Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

The magic of something new or rediscovered is gone. There are still a decent number of familiar faces, and given their busy schedules, I can't understand how Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks found the time to goof around again, but I'm really glad they did. Yet even with that, it's still not enough to satisfy me, because the most valued characters (for me, Gene and Eric, because Christopher Meloni and Chris Pine were born with the stone faces necessary for this kind of nonsense) have unnecessarily little screen time, and the plot focuses on the worse aspects. Therefore, unnecessary emphasis is given to characters like Donna and Yaron, who had already bored me to death last time. Surprisingly, the subplot with the nanny is well-executed, but overly drawn-out, as is the central presidential masquerade in particular. Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black are enjoying their dual roles every second, but the necessity of hanging camping gags on some strange long-term storyline misses the mark this time. Impressions needlessly turn bitter, and unlike the prequel, this time I don't feel like I ever need to return to Firewood. Because here, it's now exhausted. (10/08/2017)