#rockstream studios

Camp Takota is a big deal for quite a few reasons:

We’ve been waiting forever for it.

YouTube’s Holy Trinity, Grace, Hannah and Mamrie are amazing

Most importantly, this film has the potential to change the game for Youtubers (or, at least, the one’s as intrinsically funny, talented and likeable as these three) wanting to make the shift into mainstream media. This film is the first of its kind and could VERY well lay the groundwork for future investment in Youtubers/ Internet personalities. Does that mean Gregory Gorgeous is going to get his own show on E!? No. But, at least for these three, it’s important.

Directed by The Brothers Reidell, the film tells the story of Elise (Grace Helbig), who is on the verge of having it all. She’s engaged to hunky Jeff (Chester See) and is making progress towards having her book published until everything falls apart and she gets drunk and calls Sally, the director of her old summer camp, in order to volunteer as a Counsellor for the summer. Upon arrival at Camp Takota, she finds her former best friends Maxine (Mamrie Hart) and Allison (Hannah Hart) have never left. As camp commences the three of them try and save the camp from a corporate takeover at the hands of Super-queen Jared (John Milhiser, who’s now on SNL) and whilst also embarking on an inadvertent journey of self-discovery. In short, Camp Takota is a well and truly a camp film about three women coming to terms with who they are whilst preserving the place that got them there.

            Grace, Marie and Hannah all give fantastic performances throughout the film and it’s all shot and edited beautifully. The film looks great, it sounds great and, most of all, it feels great, which is undoubtedly due to the chemistry between Helbig and the Hart’s. Their friendship permeates every moment in Camp Takota and the film is all the better for it. It’s also refreshing to have a film that is so ardently pleasant, with characters who are, simply, nice people. In a post Lena Dunham and Walter White world, it’s nice to have characters that aren’t so frustrating that you end up wanting to beat yourself and them with a shovel. These are the type of people that you love and are, at their core, good. Surprisingly (despite the films overall warmth of tone) what shines brightest throughout Camp Takota is the dramatic skills of each of the actresses, and the ease with which both the film and the Trinity handle some of the heavier material. In fact, my favourite moment of the film was an argument between Elise, Maxine and Allison that was brutally honest, and- dare I say it- very adult for people with so much enthusiasm for dick jokes.

            However, Camp Takota isn’t perfect. Well, it is. Because they made it and they pulled it off and it’s amazing. But it’s not a perfect movie. The biggest issue throughout the entire movie is the high-sheen gloss that it has been painted with. While it looks great, the film lacks any real gut-punch either comedically or dramatically. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny enough, or heart wrenchingly emotional enough... so it kind of meanders between the two at points. There are hints of said gut-punch: The aforementioned argument scene and Mamrie’s closing monologue at the campfire are real winners and had this writer’s icy heart melting. Maxine’s scenes with Jared had me in absolute hysterics. But the stakes aren’t high enough overall. Elise’s life shatters before her eyes and she decided to down a bottle of Vodka, but- after a whole bottle- she only really dances around the apartment like a bit of weirdo. By all accounts she should be pissing on things and breaking things and screaming to Alanis Morisette. The potential closure of the camp sees Maxine fighting for her livelihood and everything she loves, but the rally to get the camp back on track is merely a montage of Takota-girls hanging banners and painting signs. On YouTube, what sets these women apart is how they bolt toward the inappropriate, the uncomfortable and the awkward. They don’t just cross the lines of good taste, they shart on them. Camp Takota gets halfway there. Some jokes are absolutely hilarious, some moments are really affecting but there isn’t enough of either to make this movie 100% of what each of the Trinity’s web-series is: instantly memorable. This isn’t to say I didn’t LOVE Camp Takota. I did. It’s fantastic. It is memorable, and it is important, but I feel as though it could’ve been turned up a few notches.

           Despite its faults, what makes Camp Takota work is its warmth and undeniable spirit. This is a movie with a heart (or ‘Hart’ BOOM) that beats and there is a passion and strength of emotion here that is as infectious as it is genuinely unexpected. This is all thanks to the writing, performances and personalities of Helbig, Hart and Hart. It is their energy, chemistry, adorableness and talent that make this film worth watching, both as a means of entertainment and as marker for how these three amazing women will grow and develop future projects within traditional (or more mainstream) forms of media.  Sure, it could’ve pushed things a little further (methinks that future work will delve into murkier territory should it receive financial support- AND IT FUCKING SHOULD) but the rose tinted glasses that colour every (stunning) shot of this film are well worth wearing. It’s almost like reminiscing about an old friend... or perhaps seeing one that you haven’t seen in a while.

Support the Trinity.  Because aren’t they just the best friends that we’ve all never met?

Consider the game well and truly changed.

4/5