While one could hardly rank this movie as more than a summer fun movie, it does have a certain appeal to it. It is almost Lord Of The Flies meets Rebel Without A Cause meets Meatballs. The movie is so frenetic, representing adolescence unbound. I think that a psychologist might find this interesting. While it appears that raging hormones are really about sex, it is more that the adolescents are challenging adults to show that they are able to be independent.
The adults in the camp are a collection of odd balls, including a guy who sneezes in salads, and a chef who wields a huge cutting knife. The kids are completely haywire. The head of the camp is a hapless, older man, who doesn't know how to establish authority. The kids say "yes, sir", but no one really believes nor respects him. The wealthy adult who takes the teens out drinking is their friend until he reveals that money is the most important thing in the World. Then, no one respects him anymore.
There was a scene where a couple are introduced to a Hispanic kid who is dating their son. The snobbery and ethnocentrism is evident. Yet, with the kids their is an equality. Even Dennis Quaid, who appears to be the clean cut, army kid, really is on par with the nerds of the camp. He and they are pals in a war against authority. They view the war against the adults a bit like a WWII movie.
I think this is an interesting movie just because the energy of the teenage campers is boundless. It is exhausting. This movie releases all their energy, and shows like William Golding's novel what happens when youth runs wild. That, in itself, makes this movie at least a curiosity.
The adults in the camp are a collection of odd balls, including a guy who sneezes in salads, and a chef who wields a huge cutting knife. The kids are completely haywire. The head of the camp is a hapless, older man, who doesn't know how to establish authority. The kids say "yes, sir", but no one really believes nor respects him. The wealthy adult who takes the teens out drinking is their friend until he reveals that money is the most important thing in the World. Then, no one respects him anymore.
There was a scene where a couple are introduced to a Hispanic kid who is dating their son. The snobbery and ethnocentrism is evident. Yet, with the kids their is an equality. Even Dennis Quaid, who appears to be the clean cut, army kid, really is on par with the nerds of the camp. He and they are pals in a war against authority. They view the war against the adults a bit like a WWII movie.
I think this is an interesting movie just because the energy of the teenage campers is boundless. It is exhausting. This movie releases all their energy, and shows like William Golding's novel what happens when youth runs wild. That, in itself, makes this movie at least a curiosity.