Wet Hot American Summer - a cult classic series - returned to the small screen in an 8 episode reboot worthy of the name.
If you're not familiar with the original film then chances are you haven't enjoyed it as much as people who saw the film. As someone who has watched it, I have to say the reboot is ridiculously entertaining and everything that made the cult classic so great carries over into this Netflix series.
David Wain and Michael Showalter bring together the entire cast from the original film, and the actors do a fantastic job stepping back into the shoes of characters they played well over 10 years ago. Although, I have to admit I didn't recognize Michael Showalter as Coop or Elizabeth Banks as Lindsay at first because of their incredibly different appearances.
The reboot feels more natural and the cast have much better chemistry than they did the first time round. The entire cast portray their characters brilliantly; for adults meant to be playing teenagers, they do a fine job of it. Each character adds something unique to this comedy. Like Lindsay said, they've got just about everybody from the sidekick to the performer.
The writers also bring in a lot of new faces, ranging Chris Pine to John Hamm - who were welcome additions to the cast. Even David Wain joined in the fun this time around, playing Yoren - a rival to Coop. Everyone played a part to make this one memorable comedy. The only fault I have is the under-use of Kristen Wiig. I'm sure her ridiculously busy schedule meant she could only be in a few scenes, but her role felt more like a cameo than anything else.
The show takes place over the course of one day and just like the movie so much happens within that day. The series does take a little while to get going with the first three episodes focusing heavily on relationship problems for Coop and new camp arrival Kevin, but even in them beginning episodes there was enough humorous moments in them to make you smile.
A tiny problem I had with the movie - which is still existent here - is the focus on the campers. I don't mind seeing them; they had some great moments throughout the series, but the counsellors are the stars of the show. They make us laugh the most and their scenes are the ones we'll remember for a long time to come. Drew though was the standout among the teens with his rude and competitive nature - especially towards Kevin.
Like the movie, the cast is broken down into groups for small individual stories. There was another play - which I really enjoyed - a rival camp, a government conspiracy and a rock legend living on the very grounds of Camp Firewood. Each story had enough time to develop that nothing was left open-ended or without some form of a resolution. Episodes did end abruptly and sometimes in a middle of scene, but that surprisingly made me even more eager to watch the next episode - something that doesn't happen too often with comedies. But no one watches Wet Hot for the story, it's the humor that wins everyone over and it doesn't disappoint in the prequel.
Filled with plenty of humorous - and at times gross - jokes and throwbacks to the original movie; the prequel does a terrific job of carrying over the goofy and completely bizarre moments the movie was full of. From the twist that had the Falcon (Jon Hamm) turn out to a good guy, to the assassination of Greg. Everything that happened was hilarious. It was never meant to make complete sense, and yet it surprisingly all fits together. The show even gave us insight into how - what is now effectively the theme song for the series - came into being. Wet Hot American Summer is the best comedy series to come along in years and one that will be hard to outdo in years to come.
Summary
The show is full of throwbacks to the original and fun humorous gags. The origin stories of the characters were ridiculous but appropriate for them. The show was never meant to make complete sense, but yet everything fits so perfectly together. The series allowed the writers to give us an insight into how everything started after we know how it all ends. Wet Hot American Summer is a summer delight and I'm hoping the cast and writers consider a second season. I already want to see more. This is one classic series that shows other reboots how they should be done. 9/10.
As always, thank you for reading. Let me know in the comments what you thought of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp!
