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"This is a song about friendship" - Season One (as a whole) Discussion

CofCinci

By CofCinci
in Wet Hot American Summer [V]

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CofCinci

CofCinci

Season 1 AKA The only time I've ever been attracted to Chris Pine.

 

High point of the series?  Low point of the series? What could have been edited out?  What did they need more of?

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rabidchipmnk

rabidchipmnk

Can I just say:

Season 1 AKA The only time I've ever been attracted to Chris Pine.

Seconded.  Right??  But if he will actually willingly rock a horrible wig and (lip?) sing "Higher and Higher," I may have misjudged him.... this feels so weird.

 

Could have done without everything with the actual kids.  More McKinley and Ben.

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starri

starri

I think the overall lack of McKinley and Ben probably had a lot to do with Bradley Cooper's schedule.  That said, their Meet Cute was played for sweetness first, and laughs second, which tracks with the movie.

 

I wish Susie hadn't disappeared after "Electro/City."

 

Overall, I think my favorite through-line was Lindsay.  There was just something so hilarious about her "discreetly" whipping out the typewriter periodically.  

At a certain point, my husband turned to me and said "the fact that he looks nothing like Reagan is part of the joke, right?"

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absnow54

absnow54

I was almost disappointed that "Day 2" wasn't also the last day of camp, especially when it opened the same as the movie with the boys sneaking out of the girls' bunks. I think it would have fit into the humor of the show that the entire time, it was just a weekend camp that was densely packed with action in those two single days, but it does open the possibility to more seasons with extraneous guest stars that appear and disappear before the end.

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Mya Stone

Mya Stone

Also I can't remember what episode(s), but I noted several instances in which there were clearly multiple phones in the camp (e.g. one in the kitchen?)... which then got destroyed, or something, surely?  Hee.

That, and the government guy whipping out a cell phone at the end was priceless.

I'm going to need Electro/City to be made into a full length feature. Stat.

As far as aging, Elizabeth Banks still looks AMAZING. (I can attest that she looks fabulous in and out of makeup, as she's from my hometown and still haunts this place around the holidays, and I'm always blown away by 1. How down to earth she is, and 2. How tiny she is (and flawless, looks wise). )

Paul Rudd will never age. Amy Poehler still looks fantastic, and Margerite looks amazing as well. Also shout out to JG for being the female Paul Rudd - I don't think she's aged AT ALL.

MIB and Showalter definitely didn't age well. Joe Lo looks the same to me, as does Ken Marino - except now when I see him, all I see is Vinnie Van Lowe, which is funny. I had the same effect happen with H. Jon Benjamin and seeing Archer instead of hearing the can of vegetables/Mitch.

i appreciated Abby Bernstein's transformation in all its absurdity, and also Gene I mean Jonas I mean Gene's story. There are a lot of little moments I loved, like when Coop is discussing how strangely wrapped his gift from Donna is, only to have Donna state it makes it easier for multiple takes. I'm going to rewatch the entire thing asap so I can catch more throwaway lines like this. :)

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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

I actually think the only person that aged poorly is Michael Showalter, but his face is still pretty youthful, he just gained weight. And it's compounded by the fact that he lost 20 pounds to play Coop in the first movie, so he looks even heavier now.

Janine Garafalo somehow aged backwards, because she looks even better now. The rest all clearly have old age pictures hanging in their attics.

The only thing I wish we could've had was a little more David Hyde Pierce. I understand why we didn't, because he doesn't technically meet Janine Garafalo until the last day of camp, but more DHP is always a plus for me.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

I think I personally have Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd in a dead heat for who aged best, although I think I will slightly give it to Rudd, because I'm really starting to think he is either immortal or does blood sacrifices in order to keep his youth.  Still, Banks is extremely gorgeous still.

 

I think my favorite crazy thing this series did was actually create a backstory for the can of vegetables from the film.  I actually suspected something fishy when I saw H. John Benjamin was going to appear in person, but I'm still shocked that they did it and pulled it off.

 

I really loved "The Falcon" and the random twist at the end, which, as Beth points out, means he just flat-out murdered two people (and more, if those punks died in the explosion), for really no good reason.

 

Biggest surprise as all the Tigerclaw stuff.  I never expected to find them amusing, but they were.  Josh Charles was perfection as Blake and his stooges were well-cast too (of course, Mad Men's Harry Crane would totally attend Tigerclaw in his youth).

 

Only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the stuff involving the actual kids, even though I thought the actors were pretty sold for child actors.  I did think there a few opportunities missed with other plots, but I do think a lot of that just had to do with actor availability (I think it was mentioned in another thread that Bradley Cooper shot his stuff in a day.  Frankly, I'm impressed they got as much as they did with him.)

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rabidchipmnk

rabidchipmnk

Ok, super random question: who is the guy who looks so much like a young Scott Adsit in a wig, particularly in the early episodes (e.g. right after the credits in Ep 4, he gets pushed into a sign with paint on him, and then sits next to Coop in the hypnotism show)?  IMDB and my moderate face-blindness aren't helping... or is this not anybody I should have known?

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ganesh

ganesh

Janine Garafalo somehow aged backwards, because she looks even better now.

 

I am absolutely astounded that she's 50 y/o. She's gorgeous. I would have no problem asking her out. Actually, JG, if you check out online media, you know, just to see how the show was received, pm me here. Also, I am left handed too, so we have an ice-breaker conversation. 

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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

 

 

Only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the stuff involving the actual kids, even though I thought the actors were pretty sold for child actors.  I did think there a few opportunities missed with other plots, but I do think a lot of that just had to do with actor availability (I think it was mentioned in another thread that Bradley Cooper shot his stuff in a day.  Frankly, I'm impressed they got as much as they did with him.)

I agree with you about the kids stuff - the parts with mini-Coop (Kevin?) brought everything to a screeching halt for me.  The one part I did like, is that true to kid form, the two kids that were enemies on the first day were friends on the second.  

 

Not only am I impressed that Bradley Cooper did all his scenes in one day, I like that he agreed to come back again.  His star has arguably risen the most since the first film came out, and not only did he come back, he completely threw himself into the character again.  That makes me like him even more.

 

Best surprise for me was Chris Pine.  I knew about a lot of the other cameos, but not about him, and I thought he was hilarious.  He should do more comedies.

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Guest

Guest

I watched this season but so far only the first half hour or so of the original movie.  It's wild to see it like that-- back to back (though backwards).  

 

I laughed at the 'who lost their virginity' story because it was so Little Darlings, which I loved in 1980.

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bunnyblue

bunnyblue

(edited)

I watched the episodes in 2 days, so everything kinda blended together. I enjoyed the series more than the movie. The absurdity was turned up a notch and there were definitely more LOL moments for me. 

 

I agree with others that Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks look amazing and haven't aged a bit. It's not just their faces, but they don't look like they've gained a pound either. Amy, Bradley, and Marguerite look a bit older but still fabulous. MIB has aged. His face is wider and that wig (I assume that's not his real hair) made his forehead look big. And poor Michael Showalter - I didn't recognize him at all. I was like "wait, that's Coop?!" I realized by the second episode that he now resembles a slightly younger Matt Roloff of Little People, Big World. And it was distracting.

 

When the staff held their first morning meeting the entire time I was wondering how they would explain the absence of Greg by the last day of camp. They surprised me; both by getting rid of him in one day and by going way dark in killing him. At least Mitch's death was played for laughs and he lived on in the can, but Greg was shot in head. I liked him too. And Beth sure did see a lot of action in 1 day. She slept with Mitch and Greg. And a few weeks later, she hooked up with David Hyde Pierce. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

I wanted more Ben & McKinley, but reading that BC filmed his scenes in 1 day, I guess I'm grateful I got as much of Ben/McKinley as I did. 

 

So the liquor store punks were the nerds/indoor kids from the movie?! That is awesome. I'll have to re-watch a few scene to see if I can recognize them. 

 

I love that here were 3 Mad Men alum in the cast. Too bad none of them crossed paths. Jon Hamm needs to do more comedy. He kills it. Loved him in 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt, and now this. I loved that Beth poked holes in the absurd revelation that The Falcon was a double agent. Not only did he kill Greg and Michael Cera but also the liquor store clerk and the punk kids. The fact that he just shrugged it off had me rolling. 

 

I'd never heard of the movie or the series until I read an EW article about 3 weeks ago. It seems to be getting a lot of press and I can't wait to see how it does compared to other Netflix shows. I hope we get a second season but only if they can get most of the cast back. Which I'm sure would be incredibly difficult, but if they did it once...

Edited by bunnyblue
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LJonEarth

LJonEarth

(edited)

I'd be willing to bet that we'll see another season or two.

 

Part of me wants it to take another 15 years to make just for fun. But the cast all being available would take a miracle.

 

Bradley and Marguerite were both in their early 20s the first time out, so it not surprising that their aging would be a bit more pronounced.  But just about everyone looked really great.

Edited by LJonEarth
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Kaoteek

Kaoteek

(edited)

Funny, it's the opposite for me. I really enjoyed the show, but having rewatched the movie beforehand, I feel like the show had the same amount of jokes and absurdity, only diluted over 4 hours instead of 90 minutes. I guess it was necessary due to the format, but the show felt more plot-driven than the movie, which was really chaotic & scene-driven. And I really loved the non-stop barrage of insanity of the movie.

 

That said, still a lot of laughs to be had, and if there was to be a sequel, I'd hope for a Wet Hot American Summer : the next generation, taking place during the 10 year reunion teased at the end of the movie. That way, you'd have a new bunch of counselors + the original cast in 90s getup.

Edited by Kaoteek
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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

I actually liked the series more than the movie too (and I loved the movie). It fully embraced the ridiculousness, and just fully committed to it. 

 

And it had the Song About Friendship. That`s hard to beat. 

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methodwriter85

methodwriter85

Worst:  I don't know if this counts, but Bradley Cooper has a completely different face now.

 

Bradley Cooper was 25-ish when he made the first movie. Sometimes guys facial feature's take awhile to settle.

 

I think he's also just bulked up now, as opposed to his leaner look back then.

 

 

Josh Charles is from super-preppy Baltimore (and went to a prep school there—I'm from Baltimore and around the same age) so seeing him with the triple-popped collar was triply amazing to me.

 

He had a "blink and you missed it" cameo in Hairspray as a preppy cast member on the Corny Collins show, so that's why I enjoyed watching him playing a prepster. He probably very well knew those guys.

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