Camp

Starring: Don Dixon, Joanna Chilcoat, Vince Rimoldi, Robin De Jesus, Anna Kendrick

Directed by: Todd Graff

RS: 3of 4 Stars

2003 Comedy

Writer and first-time director Todd Graff used his experiences as a student and counselor at Stagedoor Manor, a musical camp in upstate New York that boasts Natalie Portman and Robert Downey Jr. as alumni, to craft this low-budget, high-octane party movie. Featuring a cast of young unknowns that American Idol would envy, Graff deftly mixes sexual (gay, straight, uninterested) and musical modes (show tunes, the Stones). And the original songs are better than anything those Oscar jerks nominated this year.

PETER TRAVERS
(February 11, 2004)