July Movies Part 4: Theater Camp, Nimona, The Beanie Bubble

To round out July, I have three final film recommendations. Whether you're into theater, animation, or beanie babies, you're gonna enjoy these films.

Theater Camp: Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, this is a mockumentary about theater kids, written by former theater kids. It's the story of a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains where a bunch of kids who love theater gather to learn their craft from a bunch of wacky teachers and put on some spectacular productions at the end of their stay. This year is a little different, however, because the beloved camp founder, Joan (Amy Sedaris), is in a coma, and her son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro), a finance bro who knows nothing about Broadway, has taken over running the camp. Or rather, running it into the ground.

Platt and Gordon also star as Amos and Rebecca-Diane, a pair of very co-dependent teachers who went to this camp when they were kids and have now returned as high-strung teachers, who write and direct an original production every year. This year, they are writing a play about Joan's life, but as the summer progresses, there are all manner of hiccups, and it's clear that these best friends have some long-buried issues they need to work through. The rest of the cast are equally compelling, hilarious, and great, serving as a motley crew of haggard experts and complete nitwits (Ayo Edebiri is particularly fun as a new hire who lied on her resume and has no idea what her class on Stage Combat is meant to entail). But the true stars are the kids, these child actors who absolutely nail it as precocious little theater nerds who are brimming with talent and bursting with enthusiasm. This is a breezy gem of a film and you will not stop laughing for 90 minutes straight. Get thee to the theater!

Nimona: Written by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor (based on the graphic novel by ND Stevenson) and directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, this animated movie was a surprising little Netflix discovery that brightened up my afternoon. Riz Ahmed voices Ballister Boldheart, a soldier in a medieval-futuristic kingdom who rose up the ranks and is now eligible for knighthood into the Institute for Elite Knights. He wasn't born to this position, and his knighting would serve as progress for the city, an indication that even those from humble backgrounds can achieve such heights. Unfortunately, as the Queen knights him with his sword, something goes terribly wrong and she is killed. In the ensuing melee, Ballister escapes, but he is now on the run with the entire city and the Institute convinced he is a Queen killer. 

This is when he runs into Nimona (voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz). She is a teenage shapeshifter, who lives on the outskirts of society because she is viewed as a monster. She desperately wants to team up with Ballister so they can be villains together, which is a plan he is not keen on. However, he could use her help to clear his name, so they reluctantly embark on an adventure that is filled with many great plot twists that I will not spoil. Suffice to say, Nimona is a compelling film, chockful of gorgeous animation, a wonderful story, and a lot of meta commentary on unconscious bias, misinformation, and prejudice. This might also be the first animated film I've seen with such a matter-of-factly gay main character (Ballister's boyfriend is the deliciously named Ambrosius Goldenloin). Overall, it is a sweet and surprising movie and is well worth a watch.

The Beanie Bubble: Written by Kristin Gore, who also co-directed with Damian Kulash, this is the story of the rise and fall of Beanie Babies in the late 80s and 90s. If you're a millenial, you will enjoy this nostalgia trip - Lord knows I enjoyed collecting Beanie Babies with my Happy Meals when I lived in Toronto in the 90s, but hoo boy, I had no idea about the craze for these toys and how they were like the NFTs of their day (except, you know, more fungible). This is the story of the man who created the company, Ty Warner (Zach Galifinakis), but more importantly, it's the story of the three women who supported him through three distinct phases of this company: Robbie (Elizabeth Banks), his co-founder, Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan), an intuitive marketing whiz who helped spark the craze and fuel it with the newly burgeoning power of the Internet and eBay, and Sheila (Sarah Snook), his girlfriend, whose two daughters from a previous marriage helped him come up with Beanie baby designs.

This movie can be a bit tricky to follow given that it keeps jumping back and forth in time, trying to draw parallels between the experiences of these three women through three different time periods, some of which overlap. It was a bit distracting at first, but as the movie went on, I grew to appreciate why the story was being told in this fashion. Because of course, this is a story of how all three women were ultimately screwed over by this ambitious and petulant man. I have no idea how much of this story is embellished and how much is strictly true, but Banks, Snook, and Viswanathan are three incredible actors that I would happily watch for hours, so I was along for the ride. It's a fun streaming movie, especially for someone like me who was too young to appreciate the absolute madness of adults who were investing fortunes into Beanie Babies. So watch it for some nostalgia and some righteous feminist indignation - what a potent combo!