Opinion Piece: Why you should care about Wet Hot American Summer as a franchise
For the past year or so, I've been obsessed with Wet Hot American Summer. 10 years ago, that would have meant loving the cult film but we live in some strange golden age now where that now includes a prequel series and making of documentary as well. Even more exciting, next year we're getting a sequel series based around one skit and the end credits scene that takes place ten years later. This is a film that, on release, was a financial failure and not even that critically well received but thanks to the power of Netflix and a rabid cult following, Wet Hot American Summer is the hottest and wettest new franchise out there. But why should you care? I'm assuming you know how this goes, keep scrolling, preferably keep reading and then get to the end. It's not that hard.
First, I think you should care because what we have is so great. The original movie is comedy gold and one of my personal favourite movies that can get endless hilarity from an equally endless stream of absurdity. If you haven't checked it out, it's worth it just to witness the montage where the characters head to town as it perfectly shows the things I love about it: it's fast paced, absurd and utterly self aware. The documentary Summer of Fun that chronicled the making of the film is fascinating and an essential watch for anyone who enjoyed the film as it shows how unbearable it must have been to create a film so joyous. The most recent addition to this strange franchise though has been the Netflix prequel series. If you thought the joke about all the actors being too old in the first film was funny, this time it's 10 years later but set six weeks earlier, somehow making it even more ridiculous. While not in the same league as the film, the show is worth watching even if you've never seen the film, being eight short and very easy episodes.
What's also cool is that this is now an ever expanding franchise. Due to the fetish that Netflix seem to have for making new TV shows, we're getting a follow up to the follow up show called Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years On. For the unaware, it's going to be based off a fairly insignificant joke where the characters decided they'd all meet up in 10 years time and see how their lives had progressed. This is hugely exciting for me as I need more of this weird world in my life and the idea of a bunch of adults playing a bunch of teens who haven't really grown up at all. It hasn't been confirmed but I feel like there may be more series based around the film coming, based on even more obscure jokes. Perhaps there'll even be a series that shows the rest of the time from the exciting life the summer campers lead. Regardless, this franchise still has a lot going for it. Maybe there'll even be spin-off in space, explaining the placement of the Space Lab. I don't know but I do know that I'll be watching, whatever happens.
Finally, I think it's important to support this franchise because of what it represents. Like I said, the film flopped when it came out and was a tiny production that somehow managed to showcase some of the leading stars of the future. If you asked anyone at the time, they would never have told you that they ever expected anything else from it but that's the beauty. We live in an age where a weird little film with a decent cult following can become a popular franchise and that's a world I want to live in. It's still a world where Hannibal and Firefly got cancelled, sure, but there's still hope for them. Going back to WHAM (wow, I just realised that it's acronym is WHAM, life is so great), it's great to see support for something that launched so many stars, not only from the return of these stars but also from new stars and new exciting publishers.
Wet Hot American Summer is a franchise that doesn't deserve to exist but that's precisely the beauty of it's existence. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour and put aside 90 minutes for some pure stupid fun. You won't see anything like it, until you watch the prequel series. And then the sequel series. But for now, just the one thing.
First, I think you should care because what we have is so great. The original movie is comedy gold and one of my personal favourite movies that can get endless hilarity from an equally endless stream of absurdity. If you haven't checked it out, it's worth it just to witness the montage where the characters head to town as it perfectly shows the things I love about it: it's fast paced, absurd and utterly self aware. The documentary Summer of Fun that chronicled the making of the film is fascinating and an essential watch for anyone who enjoyed the film as it shows how unbearable it must have been to create a film so joyous. The most recent addition to this strange franchise though has been the Netflix prequel series. If you thought the joke about all the actors being too old in the first film was funny, this time it's 10 years later but set six weeks earlier, somehow making it even more ridiculous. While not in the same league as the film, the show is worth watching even if you've never seen the film, being eight short and very easy episodes.
What's also cool is that this is now an ever expanding franchise. Due to the fetish that Netflix seem to have for making new TV shows, we're getting a follow up to the follow up show called Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years On. For the unaware, it's going to be based off a fairly insignificant joke where the characters decided they'd all meet up in 10 years time and see how their lives had progressed. This is hugely exciting for me as I need more of this weird world in my life and the idea of a bunch of adults playing a bunch of teens who haven't really grown up at all. It hasn't been confirmed but I feel like there may be more series based around the film coming, based on even more obscure jokes. Perhaps there'll even be a series that shows the rest of the time from the exciting life the summer campers lead. Regardless, this franchise still has a lot going for it. Maybe there'll even be spin-off in space, explaining the placement of the Space Lab. I don't know but I do know that I'll be watching, whatever happens.
Finally, I think it's important to support this franchise because of what it represents. Like I said, the film flopped when it came out and was a tiny production that somehow managed to showcase some of the leading stars of the future. If you asked anyone at the time, they would never have told you that they ever expected anything else from it but that's the beauty. We live in an age where a weird little film with a decent cult following can become a popular franchise and that's a world I want to live in. It's still a world where Hannibal and Firefly got cancelled, sure, but there's still hope for them. Going back to WHAM (wow, I just realised that it's acronym is WHAM, life is so great), it's great to see support for something that launched so many stars, not only from the return of these stars but also from new stars and new exciting publishers.
Wet Hot American Summer is a franchise that doesn't deserve to exist but that's precisely the beauty of it's existence. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour and put aside 90 minutes for some pure stupid fun. You won't see anything like it, until you watch the prequel series. And then the sequel series. But for now, just the one thing.
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