The father’s humor abounds in “Family Camp,” a vanishing mild comedy similar to other films about parents and children bumbling in the wilderness. The lessons about being kind to your parents are the same; “Family is family”, to quote the absolutely unmistakable title of a song in the film. But this summer trip, packed with cabins (or yurts) and wacky activities, is a church outing: The family praying together, glamping together.
Tommy (Tommy Woodard) can’t tear himself away from work and be “present” with his wife, Grace (Leigh-Allyn Baker). They head to camp with their teenage daughter (Cece Kelly) and camera-wielding son (Jacob M. Wade). Tommy gets into a fight with Eddie (Eddie James), another father, who gathers his wife Victoria (Gigi Orsillo) and children as a motivational team leader. He serves as the enthusiastic counterpart to Tommy’s telephone approach to worship.
As Eddie, James sulks furiously while Ackerman’s low-key pranksters struggle to register, making their long walk in the second half of the film feel even longer. (The two have a following as a podcast and performance duo called “The Skit Guys.”) As for Grace and Victoria, their concerns are expressed in terms of feeling overshadowed or neglected by their husbands. And “Meatballs” isn’t this: A rude boy’s interest in Tommy and Grace’s daughter is eventually shut down.
The film didn’t screen for review by critics, but it broke into the top 10 at the weekend box office, just behind “The Northman,” which I personally preferred as an outdoor adventure.
family camp
Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 51 minutes. In theatres.
