Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by David Wain from a screenplay written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Showalter (and various other members of the sketch comedy group The State), Marguerite Moreau, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, Zak Orth, A. D. Miles, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper (in his film debut), Marisa Ryan, Kevin Sussman, Joe Lo Truglio, and Elizabeth Banks.

It takes place during the last full day at a fictional summer camp in 1981, and spoofs the sex comedies aimed at teen audiences of that era.

The film was a critical and commercial failure; it has since developed a cult following, and many of its cast members have gone on to high-profile work. Netflix revived the franchise with the release of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, an eight-episode prequel series starring most of the film's original cast, on July 31, 2015; and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, an eight-episode sequel series, set ten years after the original film, on August 4, 2017.

Plot

The film shows the last day of the 1981 summer camp Camp Firewood, located near Waterville, Maine, concentrating on the experiences of the camp counselors, most of whom are students aged around 16. The interleaved story threads meet in the evening at the camp talent show:

Cook Gene, a Vietnam War veteran, clumsily tries to hide his various sexual fetishes. After being encouraged by a talking can of vegetables, he proudly admits them to the campers and counselors in front of the packed food hall, to great applause.