Meatballs (1979)

Ah yes, the years of summer camp. Intermingling with kids from other schools and being lead around by adults you pray you'll never see again. Ridiculous activities designed to test your exuberance and stupid prizes that end up in the trash as soon as mom and dad see them. This coming of age comedy explores all that, adding in the twist of some of the camp counselors being high school students and their efforts to get laid over the summer.Not quite leading the group is Bill Murray in his film debut, combining his trade work silliness and mentoring a pre-teen kid desperate to fit in. Murray may be the only name star in this film, but there's interesting casting for the typical archetypes you see in pretty much every film like this. Harvey Atkin, a veteran actor I've never heard of, plays the much put upon and harassed camp head, the way too serious older man, perfectly fitting the description of camp worker that I prayed I'd never see again.At times, the film becomes a touching memory of the style of Saturday matinée I grew up with, combining the fads and attitudes of my high school years, the perfect summer movie. Some of these characters might not be relatable to younger generations due to changes in acceptable cultural behaviors. I would like to have seen more moments between Murray and the sensitive young kid, and less focus on the overly hormoned teens. More exploration of the great outdoors would have opened up possible laughs at the expense of these slobs dealing with nature.

Strangely enough, MB gets better with age. The fact that I had never seen it before might mean that I am not 100% qualified to make that statement. (Then again, when has THAT ever prevented me – or Obama – from saying anything unqualified?) That is to say, while MB would have (most probably) left me busy wiping tears of boredom 20-30 years ago, it now has the nostalgia bonus that so many 70s films have these days – at least for those viewers who can appreciate what made that decade so special. (I don't mean the undistilled "joy" of having Jimmy Carter infesting the White House.) It was almost impossible to make a movie in the 70s and not make it look good; the proof of that being that even Ivan Reitman had done it, and he is notorious for having zero aesthetics. He's always been the competent producer, always the money-maker, very rarely the "artiste".There is a lot Bill Murray can do with a mediocre script, but even he isn't a magician. There was real potential here, though. The set-up is very good, actually; the characters are good enough, and the cast playing them even better; the kids look natural and act naturally. The hitch is the poor gag-writing. If only someone had been brought in to tweak the script a bit, fatten it up, improve upon it, this could have been a funny comedy and not just a visually-pleasing piece of 70s nostalgia. As it is, MB falls squarely into the "mildly fun to watch, but very rarely funny" category of comedies.If this movie gets you roaring with laughter, you're either 11 years old, or you're high on laughing gas.For those of you hoping for Porky's-like raunchiness, there is no toplessness. However, there are no bras either.

Nostalgic and funny comedy has Bill Murray playing Tripper, a wacky summer camp counselor who, when he isn't trying to romance all the female counselors, is trying to help a sad boy(Chris Makepeace) who doesn't want to be there, and who isn't popular. Also features other assorted characters like "Spaz" for instance. Then there is the rival summer camp where the rich kids go, and whom Tripper badly wants to show up.This could have been just another crass, predictable comedy, but this has a surprising amount of heart and empathy, and by the end, you may get just as misty eyed about it being over as the campers! Of course, all the viewer has to do is replay the DVD.

Imagine spending the summer without your family or friends from school, and meeting new people. Or yet, it's your first time where you're a nobody and the only person you can count on is somebody from camp. "Meatballs" packs lots of comedy in this film. In camp, there's a eccentric counselor(Bill Murray) who knows how the boys and girls can have a good time. Enter a kid named Rudy(Chris Makepeace) who has no one to look up to. He doesn't fit in with anyone, only Tripper can make him have fun. The rest of the can are just as crazy as Tripper. Camp Northstar is an average camp with an above average team. One the other hand Camp Mohawk is an elite camp that has them running for their money. In the basketball game, the Mohawks got pantsed! And in the Olympiad the Northstar teal got the revenge they needed when one of the members take out the saboteur. And Morty(Harvey Atkin), this poor soul can never get himself in gear if he tried. A very, VERY funny comedy, and it's a big keeper I'll say. This movie shows that camp can be fun, if you wanted to be! 5 stars!