What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer (Season Premiere)

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 2, Episode 1 “Reunion” (C+)

I guess this is technically a series premiere, since it’s considered the sequel to the 2001 movie whereas the first season of this series is actually a prequel. Yet I think it’s hard to separate the two and that they shouldn’t be considered separately. This opening installment was full of introductions, with everyone coming back to camp exactly when they said they would and being received by an enthusiastic shouting of their names in case anyone forgot. I’ll admit that I barely remember anything from the first season, and I decided to tune in to this premiere only because I invested so much time in watching the entire first season. This installment helped me realize that this just isn’t my humor, and while some of it is a tiny bit amusing, most of it just doesn’t click. I like the addition of Adam Scott as the replacement for Bradley Cooper, who repeatedly mentioned his nose job as an excuse for his completely different appearance. I also recognized Jai Courtney right away, who’s a fish out of water who I guess wanted to come join in on this ridiculous camp reunion. The adults are now at least playing adults rather than teenagers, yet Beth is still treating them all like they’re children, separating them by gender in bunks and threatening anyone who sneaks out with a promise to revoke night swim privileges. And just in case things weren’t ridiculous enough, there’s an underground bunker which seems to be some kind of spy site. I think this has been enough of this show for me.

What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer (Season Finale)

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 8 “Day is Done” (C+)

I don’t know if I was expecting any sort of logical closure at the end of this season, but that certainly didn’t come. Instead, we got a reinforcement of the same ridiculousness that has dictated this entire season, which brought it to a close in its own way. Falcon and Gene sparring at the start of the episode was an amusing moment, and then, after Gene revealed that he had in fact switched out the cans so that the real Mitch was still there, there was another wholly unnecessary twist that the Falcon was actually a double agent the whole time. I think that it was designed fully as a parody of twists that make no sense, as underlined repeatedly by Beth pointing out that Falcon actually killed two people and then Coop summarizing it all and mentioning that it didn’t track. Neil and Shari getting a happy ending was nice since most of the show devolved into absurdity, and at least they got to come out of a hurtful nose game and end up a shining example of a great couple. The military showing up with Reagan in the tank to destroy the camp just as the rival camp was about to destroy them and Eric stood up to use music to save the day was too preposterous to describe, so I won’t even try. This show as fun but hardly anything to write home about. If there was a second season, I think I’d watch, but I wouldn’t be too upset if it didn’t get renewed.

Season grade: B-
Season MVP: Paul Rudd as Andy?

What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 7 “Staff Party” (C+)

There’s just one episode left in this season and the night is starting to wind down as the kids go to sleep, announced by the lone radio station inhabitant, and the staff start to get crazy. There are a few faces we didn’t see, but the major part of the episode was Lindsay calling her editor to tell him that she got too close to the story only to be told she had to write it anyway. A convenient career change for a nursing colleague of the camp nurse made it so that Lindsay’s story got faxed at lightning speed to the camp, exposing Lindsay and ensuring that everyone made her feel very bad about having betrayed their trust. It’s no surprise, of course, and it was the epitome of what this show is about, with events happening at startlingly quick rates without much attention paid to realism or logic. The other big moment was Kevin getting let down in a major way after his crush was about to go into a closet with his sworn enemy, and even a frantic confession of his love couldn’t combat the fact that she just didn’t feel that way about him. We also got to meet Neil’s girlfriend from home, who got mocked horribly by the other counselors when she lost the nose game, an unfortunate and swift end to that pleasant-seeming relationship. Victor’s virginity status being revealed was entertaining, and a bit more effective than the weird and predictable direction that Coop’s romance went.

What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 6 “Electro/City” (C+)

It’s only been a few hours and it’s already time for the big show! Time doesn’t exactly pass at a realistic rate on this show, but that’s just one of the things that have to be cast aside when sitting down to watch this ridiculous series. I enjoyed a few moments of the play, namely Andy and Katie’s passionate makeout session after a tremendously successful instance of stage choreography, and Ben and McKinley sharing a passionate kiss of their own. Susie and Ben sharing what they had done and who they had done it with was quite hilarious, and, as usual, the revelation of a casual affair or even a passing thought means the immediate dismissal of whatever was the norm before and the acceptance of something wholly random as an obvious choice for the foreseeable future – Gail and Jeff’s breakup sex serving as the primary example of why that doesn’t always work. The progress of Beth and Greg’s lawsuit was incredible, especially considering the preposterous inadequacy of their lawyer Jim. His presentation of a file that contained damning evidence serving as evidence enough to flip the case was so absurd, but that’s what you get with this show. The victory was short-lived, of course, thanks to the Falcon’s sudden appearance and his assassination of both Greg and Jim, leaving Beth as the only one standing. Lindsay and Eric are having their own musical experience, but, naturally, Lindsay wasn’t okay with becoming the story herself and had to get out of there before she couldn’t see a way out.

What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 5 “Dinner” (C)

This show continues to stray towards the more fully ridiculous, abandoning almost entirely any sense of seriousness and opting for the most ludicrous plotlines. This show also seems to feel the need to linger on one concept for an extended period of time, with Jonas’ hunt for Victor the biggest example in this episode. Jonas/Gene failing to see Victor when he was literally right in front of him was also absurd, and I guess I’m just not quite cut out for that type of humor which demands an enormous suspension of disbelief. Gail deciding not to marry Gene because Jeff showed up and voiced his objection was silly, but I suppose that’s just what had to happen. I’m continually not pleased with the direction that everything related to the play is going, with Claude attempting to rather unceremoniously seduce Susie, who doesn’t object too much since Ben is otherwise inclined and hasn’t given her much to write home about since they started the summer. I enjoyed the introduction of Michael Cera as the hapless lawyer who Beth and Greg seem to think is going to be able to help them take down the government and save the camp from certain destruction by toxic sludge. Lindsay didn’t have to try too hard to convince JJ to come with her into the woods to her next scoop, but he didn’t last long, and so Lindsay got the chance to meet Eric, played by Chris Pine, all by herself for just one brief appetite-whetting moment.

What I’m Watching: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 4 “Auditions” (C)

I think this may be the point where this show crosses the line from stupid in a funny way to just plain stupid, but I’m not ready to give up just yet since I’m still having some fun. Much of what’s transpired already, like Coop’s relationship with Donna and Lindsay’s scoop, are forgotten in this episode which, unfortunately, features a focus on auditions for the play, which I find to be the weakest plotline of this entire show. I love Amy Poehler, John Slattery, and Michaela Watkins, but there’s something about it all that just doesn’t succeed for me. Ben’s veiled conversation with McKinley was entertaining, but I didn’t go for the overenthusiasm of the first cast actor and his anger then acceptance when Andy wandered in and got the part so that he could make out with Katie. Blake seems to have a fitting replacement for his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend in Kristen Wiig’s Courtney, but he doesn’t appear to be too interested at the moment. Gail is doing too much research into her fiancé’s past, and Randall Park’s Jeff has helped her to uncover some disconcerting information about who he really is. The Falcon is wholly ridiculous, tripping four punks with one kick and posing as a famed hypnotist to get into camp, but I think he’s emblematic of this show, a send-up of camp that’s funny enough when it’s pretty literal but always feels the need to go the extra mile to make sure that it can’t possibly be taken seriously.

Take Three: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 3 “Activities” (C+)

This show is just as hilarious as it is absurd, and that’s its saving grace. I think the biggest laugh-out-loud moment of the entire episode was Coop chanting “Maria” before blowing the shofar, which it turns out Donna gave to just about everyone at camp, not just the boyfriend she occasionally spends time with but never really fully engages with in serious conversation for more than a moment. This show is all about mocking conventions, best done by the kids being in the bunk all of a sudden and Lindsay firing away on her typewriter on her lap while taking notes about the haunted house at the edge of camp. I don’t even know what to say about Mitch coming back to life as a can, and Jonas’ memory regression techniques that allowed him to spit out the code were definitely eccentric. This show’s universe got a whole lot bigger with the sudden involvement of President Reagan and an assassin, played by none other than Jon Hamm, tasked with taking out Beth and Greg, who have stumbled upon information they shouldn’t have ever learned about, putting them in the crosshairs of the government. I wish I was enjoying the plotline with Josh Charles and Marguerite Moreau a bit more, and the same goes with John Slattery’s tyrannical direction of the play that does not seem at all stage ready. Overall, this show is a zoo, but it’s a wildly entertaining one that tries very hard to push envelope to side-splitting effect at every juncture.

Round Two: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer: Season 1, Episode 2 “Lunch” (B-)

There’s no denying that this show is both idiotic and entertaining, probably to equal degrees. This episode was a blast to watch but it’s completely absurd, rivaling “The Brink” for the zaniest comedy currently on television. I like that there’s young romance brewing which was nearly disrupted by an unfortunate bathing suit soiling incident, and fortunately Coop was there to save the day by donning the dress and deflecting attention from Kevin’s embarrassment. Waving the soiled underwear at Donna while still dressed as a woman with no explanation was among the most ridiculous moments of the episode, following the hilarious appearance of Yaron the Israeli counselor, who I did not recognize as David Wain, director of the film that spawned this series. There were a handful of familiar faces in this episode, particularly Elizabeth Banks’ journalist colleagues, who included Jordan Peele, Paul Scheer, and Jayma Mays. Banks is definitely an asset to this show, posing as a counselor despite her actual age of 24 and hypnotizing everyone with the way she dresses and her rebellious attitude. Michaela Watkins was also an enjoyable guest as Rhonda, Claude’s assistant, who did not help the relationship woes of Ben and Susie. Molly Shannon’s Gail and Christopher Meloni’s cook Jonas are pretty crazy, but nothing really compares to Amy, the girl who emerged from the bathroom a wholly different woman. And of course the episode ended with Mitch falling in to the toxic sludge, which might not be so toxic since Greg sampled it with his finger and a spoon.

Pilot Review: Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer (Netflix)
Premiered July 31

I saw the film “Wet Hot American Summer” in 2007, and my short review, posted within the first month that this site existed, talks about how a funny, promising start didn’t really lead anywhere for me personally. When I mentioned to friends that I could barely remember the film, they all urged me to watch it again, but I felt like I’d be better off revisiting the universe from the vantage point of having it as a distant memory and seeing how the new show holds up. This first episode is an introduction more than anything else, but it’s one that shows just how talented a comedy cast this show has assembled. I figure that I can probably identify which members of the cast weren’t in the film – namely Josh Charles and John Slattery – but what’s most astounding is the talent that has returned to revisit summer camp and all the hilarity it has to offer. I’m not a huge fan of this show’s humor and the way it goes about it, but I still do find it fun, and I love recognizing so many actors in roles that seem perfect for them. This is definitely a show that I’m eager to continue watching and to let grow on me, if only to see the likes of Marguerite Moreau, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Bradley Cooper, and so many others make fools of themselves on television in a parody of camp that feels all too familiar, wild, and absurd.

How will it work as a series? It’s designed as a prequel to the movie, which means that it has a lot of gaps to fill in and has to stick, in large part, to how events in the movie play out. That said, I’m treating it as a standalone production, and I found this first installment to be perfectly expository and informative, to the point that I think it will do very well and have no problem milking fresh comedy over the course of thirteen episodes.
How long will it last? Netflix is almost impossible to measure, but I think there’s enough buzz and nostalgic goodwill around this show that it will likely return for another season, even if this was only meant to be a one-shot reunion. My suspicion is that one season is all it should really be back for, but positive vibes and energy will encourage its network to pick it up for more.

Pilot grade: B