SXSW: Days Eight and Nine – A Visit to 'Theater Camp'

The remaining days of South by Southwest 2023 concluded with two very different films: "Americana" and "Theater Camp." The festival ended after nine days of featured sessions, keynote speeches, television screenings, and world premieres of blockbusters and indie favorites. Over a week of attending these presentations, I learned a lot about fueling up, wearing appropriate walking shoes, and never taking for granted how fun it is to be at a globally recognized film and television festival.

"Americana" is written by, and is the directorial debut of, Tony Tost, who some might know from his work on television shows like "Longmire." This film delivers as a Western crime thriller with hints of "Pulp Fiction" aided by an incredible cast. With some sequences emerging out of order in a non-linear narrative, "Americana" tells the story of the heist of the legendary Lakota Ghost Shirt, a revered and mythical Native American artifact.

"Black Bird" star Paul Walter Hauser portrays hopeless romantic Lefty Ledbetter, a serial proposer in a small town who meets and befriends waitress Penny Jo Poplin (Sydney Sweeney). Meanwhile, Mandy Starr (singer Halsey) escapes her abusive relationship to Dillon (Eric Dane) just as Dillon has stolen the Ghost Shirt and intends to sell it to the highest bidder. The shirt becomes a MacGuffin in this suspenseful tale, which concludes during a standoff akin to a modern-day showdown at the O.K. Corral.

"Americana" uses its wild west motif while showcasing a '70s-era thriller set in the present day. With an ensemble cast that includes Simon Rex, Zahn McClarnon, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Gavin Maddox Bergman, the film incorporates greed, lawlessness, religious cults, Native American traditions, and comedic thievery into its multitude of parts. Of note is the unlikely chemistry between Hauser's Lefty and Sweeney's Penny Jo, although Bonnie and Clyde these two most definitely aren't. The lovebirds are just a fraction of the storylines in this whirlwind epic. Tony Tost does a phenomenal job of making this Tarantino-esque movie come together in the end.

It's funny, riveting, and hair-raising until the very last moment.

However, my SXSW adventures had to end at some point, and there was no better way to do just that than with the Texas debut of "Theater Camp," which will unquestionably be a new queer classic after releasing in theaters later this year. Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, and based on their short film of the same name, "Theater Camp" first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was quickly acquired by Searchlight Pictures for a summer release.

EDGE Media Network will release a full review of "Theater Camp" closer to the film's release date, so I will detail my first reactions to the film for now.

"Theater Camp" stars Ben Platt as Amos and Molly Gordon as Rebecca-Diane, veteran teachers at a theater camp for children in upstate New York. Styled like a mockumentary, but without characters speaking directly to the camera, the movie is the illegitimate stepchild of Christopher Guest's 1996 comedy "Waiting for Guffman." At the start of the season, the camp has been hit with bad news as longtime owner Joan (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma and her immature son (Jimmy Tatro) takes over. Amos and Rebecca-Diane are often at odds with the camp's new hetero, party-boy owner. At the same time, the rest of the staff (Ayo Edebiri, Caroline Aaron, and Noah Galvin) try to keep up with the various changes that Troy implements. As the audience, we see the camp's multiple stages play out, like auditions, classes, rehearsals, tech week, and opening night.

"Theater Camp" is a feast for anyone who ever went to theater camp, knew anyone that did plays in school, or was ever around a child performer. Making light of the teacher and camper dynamics that still exist in camps like this, the movie excels when it plays upon these realistic tropes. It's a hilarious satire of a niche setting, with scene-stealer Noah Galvin taking the audience along for the uproarious ride.