Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Season 1 TV Review

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015-)

Created by: Michael Showalter, David Wain
Starring:  Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Poehler, 
                Molly Shannon, Lake Bell, Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, John Slattery, Christopher Meloni, Chris Pine

Teenage camp counselors played by middle aged actors.

Plot:
In the Netflix prequel to the 2001 movie, this series chronicles the first day at Camp Firewood.

Verdict:
This show is absurd and completely wacky. I love it. It either subverts common tropes or cranks them up to eleven. Making it a prequel is absurd in of itself since all the teenage camp counselors are played by middle aged actors. All eight episodes take place on the first day of camp which is another joke. The pacing is frenetic, and there is a human embodied as a can of vegetables, Jon Hamm as an assassin, Ronald Reagan in a tank, Chris Pine as a musician living in a haunted cabin, a lawsuit, murders, and a lot more. I've been disappointed by Netflix's most recent comedies, but this completely delivers, provided you like complete silliness.
Watch it. 

Recap
I'm providing a few highlights from the episodes, so if you want to avoid spoilers, STOP READING! =)

It's a great concept to make this a prequel. The big question is how do you make a sequel when so much time has passed. The answer is to fully embrace how much older the actors are and have them play even younger characters. This is definitely wackier than the movie, but it makes for an enjoyable series. It avoids constantly referencing the age difference, instead employing it sparingly to great effect.

The kid actors don't sell it quite as well as the adult actors in the typically awkward camp interactions. The camp counselors are the stereotypical sex crazed teens, except they are played by much older adults. It fully embraces how weird it gets when actual teenagers and middle aged adults are playing characters that are the same age.

It's a typical cheesy camp story, but it does a great job of playing to your expectations before pulling the rug out from under you.

The awkward kid challenges the resident bully to a burping contest. I'd assume he'd win as thats how things go, but he loses terribly. In the culmination to his story line where he finally admits to the girl he's been eyeing that he likes her, and she's been eyeing him, she replies she doesn't like him like that. You expect them to live happily ever after,but he's shut out completely.

Don't worry, he may have fallen into toxic waste, but he'll be okay... kind of.

A child actor runs to the bathroom, having her first period. When she exits, she's an adult actor. While camp movies often fall to the dramatic, this stays silly. There's even toxic waste and a government coverup. The guy that falls into the toxic waste comes back as a talking can of vegetables, and that is played straight.

Knife fighting, undercover agent Jon Hamm, the Falcon.

With an ensemble cast and many story lines, it never feels slow. It's wacky and a lot of fun. The guest stars are great. Chris Pine is a reclusive would be rock star living in a supposed haunted cabin. Jon Hamm dresses as Weird Al while undercover for President Reagan. His knife fight with Christopher Meloni is awesome. Hamm's resolution to the story line is illogical and absurd. He claims he was on the camps side the entire time, but can't refute that he did murder a few people. His response is to just go with it.

Michael Cera is a lawyer. Cera takes the toxic waste case, goes to trial a few minutes later, and wins the case when he gives the judge a blank floppy disk he claims is evidence. It's enough for the judge to declare the defendants guilty. It's hilariously ridiculous. The entire first season is one day of camp. Realistically, it makes no sense, but that's the conceit of this series.

President Regan in a tank attacking Camp Firewood.

President Reagan attacks the camp. While a rock ballad from Chris Pine can't stop the threat, the freedom of the press can. This show is just as silly as it sounds, and it's awesome.