Michael Showalter and Christopher Meloni taking it "Higher and Higher." (Scene from Wet Hot American Summer by USA Films.)
Last night the Music Hall in Williamburg was the site of a 10th anniversary celebration for the cult classic “Wet Hot American Summer,” attended by the film’s stars and director, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain.
The movie, which starred a huge ensemble of comedic actors including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon and a young Bradley Cooper, bombed in theaters but has since attained cult status with twenty and thirty somethings who identify with the absurdist story based on Wain and Showalter’s time at Camps Modin and Mohawk, respectively.
When discussing the production of the film all those years ago, Wain told EW, “It was a seven-nights-a-week party. The line between being at summer camp and making a movie about it was very gray. The biggest difference was that we were a little older and nobody was going to take our beer away.”
While not explicitly Jewish — the campers don’t light Shabbat candles or sing Israeli folk songs — the movie is about every Jewish summer camp experience. One memorable scene has camp director Beth (Janeane Garofalo) doing a final roll call of campers where she uses every “berg” and “witz” in the book, and also asks for “David Ben Gurion.”
Check out some of Paul Rudd’s finest work below. He was so robbed of an Oscar for this one.
