It’s great that movies about older people, particularly women, have continued to be made and watched. The largest growing segment of our population are seniors, as people live longer and the birth rate falls. It’s important that this group be represented in films, now and in the future. It would be nice if the movies were better, however, than this one.
Castille Landon’s film has three adolescent girls meet at the North Carolina location of Camp Pinnacle (a real place since 1928), then reluctantly return for a 50th anniversary reunion — a whole week of bonding around camp activities and old memories. Self-help maven Ginny Moon (Kathy Bates) organizes the thing, persuades nurse Mary (Alfre Woodard) to attend, and they essentially kidnap workaholic scientist Nora (Diane Keaton) to join them. They work through personal issues, have a few mild adventures and even find romance during the week, which, as movies like this are designed to do, changes their lives for the better.
As positive and quasi-inspirational as this movie is meant to be, it never really takes off. Writer-director Landon’s heart is in the right place but her cinematic sensibilities are not developed enough to make this work. The story is too tame; scenes are stilted and sometimes truncated; the humor is ironic rather than funny (although there is a doozy of a food fight) and the big decisions seem to occur off-screen. The wavering of relationships is too pat and too many details are glossed over in favor of the overarching theme of reconciliation and forgiveness. It’s like a soft-focus made-for-television movie. But props to the players, especially Kathy Bates, who gives it her all, and the intriguing casting of Eugene Levy as a romantic foil.
The scenery and location is also meritorious; Camp Pinnacle looks like a really fun place to visit for a week. It’s a shame that the movie doesn’t measure up to its setting. And I’ve seen this basic situation before, in a better film. The film you should be watching for your camp reunion fix is Indian Summer, a 1993 Mike Binder comedy-drama with Matt Craven, Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Kevin Pollak, Elizabeth Perkins, Vincent Spano, Julie Warner, Kimberly Williams and Alan Arkin. Indian Summer is a ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2 movie that fully explores its themes and relationships. Summer Camp has charms but is a mere echo of that resonant tale. ☆ ☆. 9 June 2024.