‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp’ recap: ‘Campers Arrive’ & ‘Lunch’

The first bars of Jefferson Starship’s “Jane” open the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer with a credit sequence that has become as memorable as the rest of the film. It seems only fair that David Wain and Michael Showalter’s return to Camp Firewood would begin with a very similar opening.


screenshot from YouTube video

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day At Camp was posted on Netflix on July 31 and it seems improbable that it even exists. Somehow, Wain and Showalter got everyone back (and more), 14 years after the original film hit theaters. Obviously, everyone looks much older, but that’s part of the joke. Everyone looks older now than they were on the last day of camp (which was the movie).

The first two episodes of First Day play very similar to the film, so you’re instantly in familiar territory of you love that movie. Personally, I’ve always thought it was a funny little movie that’s better known because of what people in it have done since 2001 than for what it actually is.

“Campers Arrive” is exactly what you should expect - it instantly puts everyone in their place. We also meet a few new characters, including Mitch (H. Jon Benjamin), Vice Head Councilor Greg (Jason Schwartzman), Donna (Lake Bell) and the scene-stealing Claude Dumet (John Slattery). Coop (Michael Showalter) also finds a new young student to mentor, Kevin (David Bloom), who is just as awkward as himself.

We also learn that Susie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Bradley Cooper) were a couple at the start of camp and how McKinley (Michael Ian Black) duped “The Beekeeper” (George Dalton) into thinking that Camp Firewood had a radio station. Oddly enough, Andy (Paul Rudd) does not start off as Katie’s (Marguerite Moreau) boyfriend because Katie is dating a dumb jock (Josh Charles) from rival Camp Tiger Claw. Andy will spend the majority of the series trying to woo Katie. Oh, and Neil (Joe Lo Truglio) has always been in awe of Victor (Ken Marino).

At the end of “Campers Arrive,” we also learn that Mitch has been having money problems and someone is dumping toxic waste on the campgrounds. That’s not good.

[New page = Lunch]

In “Lunch”, things get really crazy as we suddenly learn who Lindsay (Elizabeth Banks) really is. She’s actually a rock and roll magazine journalist who is oddly fascinated with camp life and her boss (Jordan Peele) gives her the greenlight. She tries to pass herself off as a 16-year-old and J.J. (Zak Orth) instantly welcomes her in, no questions asked. However, they can’t tell her what’s in a mysterious cabin.

Coop also learns that Donna doesn’t really care for him, especially after a super handsome Israeli guy shows up to coach soccer. He confronts while dressed as an old woman (after saving Kevin from embarrassment after Kevin pooped in his pants) and that doesn’t go well. Coop always tries to be nice, but he’s learning that nice guys finish last.

Meanwhile, Katie has to help Abby, who has her period. After she emerges from the stall, Abby becomes a woman, suddenly played by Marisa Ryan.

One of the big revelations in this episode is that Gail (Molly Shannon) was going to get married to the cook Jonas (Chris Meloni). Something went wrong there. Maybe it’s the fact that Jonas doesn’t get why “I (heart) you from my head tomatoes.”

While practicing for Electrocity, Ben and Susie run into relationship troubles as Claude keeps wooing Susie. She tries to reignite their relationship by asking Ben to have angry sex with her. Of course, they’ve never had any kind of sex before and Ben is waiting for a special moment.

Lastly, the toxic waste dump plot gets more interesting as Mitch comes clean to Beth (Janeane Garofalo) and Greg. Mitch falls back into the toxic waste while holding a can of vegetables, which may explain why he was a can in the movie. Greg also tasted the toxic material, so that probably explains why that character doesn’t make it into the movie.

So far, this show is looking more like a four-hour-plus movie than a traditional show. The episodes are completely linked, without central stories in each 30-minute block. And if you thought the wait was too long for any kind of follow-up to WHAS, First Day proves that Wain and Showalter have a few more bizarre tricks to throw at us.

Check back soon for my recap of Episode 3!

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