Theater Camp Trailer: All This Drama Is Absolutely Hilarious

Comedy is exceedingly difficult to pull off theatrically in the streaming age, but Searchlight Pictures is giving it the ol' college try this summer with the original comedy "Theater Camp." The good news? It looks absolutely hilarious and has been met with rave reviews coming out of film festivals such as Sundance (read our review here). Now, a trailer has arrived online, which will help give the moviegoing masses an idea of what to expect. If this is anything to go on, expect something endearing and funny.

The film hails from Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon, who you may recognize from movies like "Booksmart" and "Good Boys." They are directing here, with Gordon also starring alongside Ben Platt ("Dear Evan Hansen"). While they may not be overly experienced feature directors, it looks like they didn't miss a beat in bringing this story to life. But enough talk, let's roll the footage.

"Theater Camp" has that mockumentary style one might find in a Christopher Guest movie like "This Is Spinal Tap." For anyone who ever spent any amount of time in a drama club or taking theater classes in school, much of this should feel right at home. The jokes absolutely hit, but they have a very grounded quality to them where we're not just reaching for laughs. The laughs come from the fact that this feels like a real place, and these people feel real. It also seems endlessly charming. Our own Ethan Anderton wrote that the movie "delivers sidesplitting laughs in droves with a wonderful assembly of talent both in front of and behind the camera."

That cast also includes Patti Harrison, Nathan Lee Graham, Ayo Edebiri, Owen Thiele, Alan Kim, Alexander Bello, Bailee Bonick, Kyndra Sanchez, Donovan Colan, Vivienne Sachs, Quinn Titcomb with Caroline Aaron, and Amy Sedaris. Galvin, Gordon, Lieberman, and Platt wrote the screenplay, which was based on their short film.

As for the specifics of the story at hand, the synopsis reads as follows:

Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the original comedy "Theater Camp" as Amos and Rebecca-Diane – lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn (Noah Galvin) band together with the staff and students, staging a masterpiece to keep their beloved summer camp afloat.

"Theater Camp" is set to hit theaters on July 14, 2023.