To me, this movie is perfection.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I picked up this movie solely because Dominique Swain is in it. But the movie was a major disappointment on many accounts. Especially on the comedy side. I didn't laugh a single time throughout the entire movie.And you would think that with Dominique Swain, Justin Long and Peter Stomare that you would be in for at least a somewhat enjoyable movie. But alas, no, "Happy Campers" didn't deliver where it counted.The story is about a summer camp where the camp director is injured in a lightning accident, and it is up to the college student camp counselors to step up and run the camp in the directors absence.For a comedy "Happy Campers" was disturbingly devoid of laughs and funny situations. And it was as if director Daniel Waters just wanted to focus on the sexual situations that he may or may not have experienced in camp himself. As such, the movie sank from mediocrity right into downright ludicrous stupidity.This movie isn't worth the time or effort, and there are far better movies available in this late teen/early adult comedy genre.

"Welcome to 'Camp Bleeding Dove', where seven hot-blooded college freshmen are left in charge of dozens of high-maintenance campers. When 'Chief Oberon' (Peter Stormare), the camp's only responsible adult, is hit by lightning, it's a hormonal free-for-all as the counselors 'Wichita' (Brad Renfro) and 'Wendy' (Dominique Swain) score with each other while trying to control the underage masses. At the end of 40 days, everyone is guaranteed memories that will last a lifetime!" promises the DVD sleeve description. Debuting director Daniel Waters' teen sex comedy is alternately appealing, embarrassing, teasing, and stupid. Unfortunately, emphasis is firmly on the latter.** Happy Campers (1/21/01) Daniel Waters ~ Brad Renfro, Dominique Swain, Jaime King, Justin Long

Okay, for starters, Happy Campers completely blew me away. I was expecting an American-Pie-esquire teen sex romp, but what I got what a hysterically funny mature comedy with extremely colorful characters. It is by far the best teen comedy film I've ever seen, and it goes much deeper than most teen films dare. It is not afraid to be in-your-face with the humor, and the storyline is very realistic.At Camp Bleeding Dove, many new counselors must unite after a mishap leaves the camp director unstable. They set out to diversify the camp, and change things up, and along the way they discover themselves.The dialogue is just great, and it truly captures teen spirit and the way that teenagers talk. All of the camp counselors have their own unique personalities, and mesh so well together. Everyone has weaknesses, and the love story is incredibly true to real life. The counselors struggle with both relationships, finding themselves, and caring for the campers, a responsibility that some of them are unable to handle.All of the great aspects of this movie come together so perfectly. The well-written script is brought to life by a lot of the most underrated actors of all time, which in turn are directed by a sensational director who gives the movie a great look and feel. Brad Renfro plays Wichita, the brooding camp counselor that everyone idolizes and looks up to. Renfro has always been extremely talented in my book, especially after his astounding performance in Bully. He is just as great here, bringing a great sensibility and look to Wichita that must have been completely absent on paper. Dominique Swain, the side character in most movies like Alpha Dog and Face/Off, takes center stage as one of the main characters, Wendy. She couldn't have been more perfectly cast. She turns Wendy into a loopy, insanely energized woman, and it works so well, especially in contrast to Renfro's Wichita. Keram Malicki-Sanchez, who has a history of small stand-out roles in Johnn Q, Cherry Falls, and the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plays Jasper, the homosexual camp counselor that all the girls at camp are completely goo-goo over. It is great seeing him on center stage in a central role, and he is definitely perfect for the role. Emily Bergl, the seriously underrated actress from The Rage: Carrie 2, the TV miniseries Taken, and the 2005 film The Hard Easy, plays the strange and quirky Talia. Bergl is spectacular, and the role gives her a wide range of acting to do, all of which she is perfect at. There wasn't a single instance where her role of Talia was not believable. Jaime King, from such films as Sin City, The Tripper, and Cheaper By the Dozen 2, plays the sexual maniac Pixel. Her role is so goofy and ridiculous (in a good way) that it had to have been hard to mess it up. She was mostly great, but was definitely not the best of the cast. Justin Long, yet another underrated actor from films like Dodgeball, Jeepers Creepers, and Accepted, plays the nerdy Donald with such sincerity. Every role I've ever seen the guy play has been fantastic, and his role as the nerdy and inexperienced Donald is no exception. It is quite awesome to see his evolution in the movie thanks to the absolutely sensational script. Jordan Bridges, yet another underrated actor who appeared in Mona Lisa Smile, the TV show Charmed, and some other projects, plays Arnold, the aggressive sexaholic. As much as this movie sounds like it's filled with stereotypes, the actors and the scripts break away from them completely, and most often do the opposite of what you would normally be expecting. Bridges is no different, as his role as Arnold is very realistic and hilarious. His character is so much more than it first appears. The only person in the cast that I absolutely hated (and will most likely always hate) was Peter Stormare, who plays Oberon. He does get the job done, but I absolutely cannot stand him. Something about his voice just grates on my nerves and I don't feel that he has any real acting talent to speak of.Another thing I liked about the movie was the narrating by all of the characters. For a second you think it's going to be a Justin Long comedy film, but then each of the actors take turns narrating, and in the end almost everyone had the same amount of screen time. There wasn't one character I wholly disliked and couldn't stand. They were all so different and unique that I liked each one of them for different reasons. The movie also had a great deal of heart, and it has a very subtle message, not the in-your-face crappy Hollywood movie messages.The cast is so perfect and the script is so good that Happy Campers easily emerges as one of my favorite films of all time. It was laugh-out-loud hilarious in several parts, and I completely loved it. Not sure why this film doesn't have a bigger fan base, but I thought it was absolutely amazing. It was definitely a great comedy.

Well, I was quite surprised when I saw that this little-known (or less than that) film only recieved a rating of 5 out of 10. The minute this movie was over, I hopped onto Amazon.com and ordered a copy for myself. I didn't even return it to the video store until my own copy came. I have never been this pleasantly surprised with a movie. The film starts off seemingly as just another teen movie where stereotypes and cliches abound. The humor even seems a little slapstick at first, not really my kind of humor. But once this film gets going, it doesn't let up. It takes you in and makes you look at things differently. Some of the quotes from this movie are the most touching and profound lines I've heard from a film since "The Breakfast Club" (still, my all-time FAVORITE movie), such as "When it comes to the ritual of growing up, sometimes you smile because you're happy. Other times, you smile just because you've survived. But hey, a smile is a smile." Those lines show that this movie goes deeper than just another teen flick and in the end, you have a feel-good feeling that stays with you for a while. I think that those of you who have viewed this film and gave it less than a seven need to view it again. But this time, look closer. . .let it take you in the way a good film should.