Wet Hot American Summer - "Higher and Higher"
Are you ready to learn the.............. New Way?
Late August has snuck up on me once again. As a summer lover, I tend to spend this time of year plugging my ears and yelling “LA LA LA” to back-to-school commercials and adamantly declaring to everyone “it’s not really fall until September 21st!!!” To get through this difficult time, I soften the blow by watching the best end-of-summer movie ever made: Wet Hot American Summer.
If you have never seen this movie, woweee you are in for a treat. All I will tell you is that it takes place on the last day of camp in 1981 and stars some of the funniest people of all time, plus a baby-faced Bradley Cooper. That’s all you need to know. It’s best that you go in blind to everything else and just let the experience wash over you.
At this point in the movie, our struggling camp counselor hero, Coop (a waifish Michael Showalter) is distraught over his unrequited love for another counselor. Thanks to the wisdom and choreography from camp chef Gene (Christopher Meloni)1, we get this glorious training montage:
The real dance stuff doesn’t start until nearly a third of the way into this, but I do enjoy the impressive amount of tears on Coop’s face:
And I also love Gene’s expression after Coop says he’s ready to be taught:
Gene is so many things at once here: stoic, pumped, contemplative, and possibly burping. THIS is the kind of stuff you go to acting school for, people!2
Coop and Gene have a nice slo-mo run to a cozy cabin dance studio. Where has this place been the whole time? Is this where the Day B’Day kids have been rehearsing? Or is it Gene’s private dance studio? Probably the former, but I’d like to imagine it’s Gene’s quiet space to escape to between meal preps and do some Fosse. Clearly he’s been practicing something:
Gary (A.D. Miles) is also hanging out in the dance cabin, which makes me wonder if Gary is just on call for everything at Camp Firewood. He works with Gene in the kitchen, he’s also a counselor, and now is here to DJ this montage. He’s building a well rounded resume for an alleged teenager!
Coop tries to pick up Gene’s seemingly simple moves, but can’t get it and is in FULL anguish3:
I get it, Coop!! Half of learning choreography is about not getting it and being mad at yourself! I don’t think I’ve ever dramatically thrown myself against the wall for not getting something perfectly in dance class, but I’ve definitely considered it. Maybe I should try it out for real because it looks super cathartic.
We cut back to them running together and Coop is suddenly in the tiniest pair of shorts, which I think is supposed to convey the passage of time (roughly 30 seconds) and the growth of Coop’s confidence:
Gene is smart and keeps his jeans on because he can see this place is swarming with mosquitos. He’s also always got his apron on because his number one commitment is to the art of summer camp cuisine and teaching the New Way is just his side hustle.
All the intense training pays off because suddenly Coop’s nailing it! He’s infused with the New Way spirit!
He is so completely New Way-ed that he leaps off the wall then shares a leap of joy with Gene!
They’re all so excited that even Gary joins in! Now he can also add “dance captain” to his resume, hooray!
Even the can of vegetables approves!4
We end in a perfect freeze-frame that is peak everything: peak 1980s, peak summer, and peak arm hair:
THIS is how I want to feel at the end of every summer! And luckily this year I really am feeling this way. As Labor Day looms I’ve been reminiscing about all the good stuff I packed into these warm months (I visited family and friends, saw The Pixies live, went to a water park, and even baked my very first pie, to name just a few) and I’m feeling pretty dang fulfilled. This is one of the first summers in a long time (perhaps ever?) that I’ve really felt like I’m living each glorious moment and not mourning summer’s passing as I’m experiencing it. And there’s still more to come! Hopefully I can keep it up.
BONUS: This has nothing to with summer or the 1980s, but dancer Bob Banas died last month and I need to give a little shout out to his work as dancer and choreographer and creator of many special moves. He is perhaps best know for this clip of him dancing “The Nitty Gritty” on The Judy Garland Show in 1964, which I went deep into on my blog many years ago. I like to imagine a world where he is the original guru of the New Way.
Have a joyous end of August, friends! May you all find your own joyous freeze frame moment whilst wearing tiny shorts.
Love and jazz hands,
Molly
This movie was my introduction to Christopher Meloni and I had no idea for many years that he is better know for intense dramas like Oz and Law & Order: SVU. I think that’s why he’s so perfect for this movie though—he’s putting the same amount of passion into humping the fridge as he does for solving crimes. Acting!!
Christopher Meloni is a Meisner guy, FYI.
Michael Showalter went to NYU and Brown for his anguish skills, FYI.
The can of vegetables is FAR too much to explain if you haven’t seen the movie. Just know that it’s voiced by H. Jon Benjamin and plays a very crucial role.
This was so much, Molly! I never heard of this movie but I'm going to put it on my to watch list!
This was also my introduction to Christopher Meloni! I'm still sad he doesn't do more comedy.