''Camp Nowhere'' is a 1994 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Jonathan Prince Jonathan Alexander Prince (born August 16, 1958) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and movie producer. Career Prince embarked on an acting career following graduation from Harvard University. His played Leo in the 1981 CBS series ''M ...

, written by Andrew Kurtzman and Eliot Wald, and stars

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

, Jonathan Jackson and

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

in her film debut.

Plot

12-year-old Morris "Mud" Himmel has a problem: his parents want to send him away to a

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

computer camp. He hates going to

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

and will do anything to get out of it. Talking to his friends, he realizes that they are all facing the same sentence of going to a boring summer camp. Together, they hatch a plan to create their own summer camp with no parents, no

counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

s, and no rules. Word gets out and other kids soon want to join the made-up summer camp. Mud decides to

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

former drama teacher Dennis Van Welker into helping; he had bought an

AMC Gremlin The AMC Gremlin (also American Motors Gremlin) is a subcompact automobile introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style (1970–1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC), as well as in Mexico (1974–1983) by A ...

and failed to make most of the payments and is being pursued by soon-to-retire collector T.R. Polk, and agrees to help them in return for $1,000 and after they threaten to turn him in if he doesn't help. With Dennis' help, the kids trick all the parents into sending them to the camp, and then rent an old campground (that used to be a hippie

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

back in the 1960s and '70s) with a cabin on a lake. Some parents believe it is a computer camp, while others believe it is a

fat camp In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple es ...

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

, or an acting camp. The kids use the money their parents had paid for camp to buy toys and food. After a little while, they get bored and wonder if they should just return home. Mud goes to Dennis for help, and with a

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

, he soon finds ways to keep things interesting and help them continue to have fun. Eventually, the parents want to come visit their kids despite being told that there are no parents' days. Mud makes a plan to trick them and, along with his friends, they keep the camp concealed. In a matter of hours, they fix it up and set up different scenarios representing the different camps (fat camp, computer camp, military camp, etc.) Their plan works and the parents don't suspect a thing. T.R. Polk then meets a

state trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdicti ...

who was also seeking Dennis, and they find their way into the camp and catch him. The

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

are called and Mud finds Dennis running away from the authorities. Mud is confronted by the police and protects Dennis from them, but soon after Dennis turns himself in. Mud confesses and explains that the whole thing was his idea, and uses the rest of the money to settle Dennis' debt with T.R. Polk, who'll retire with a perfect record. The other kids in a show of solidarity also claim responsibility and therefore all the parents refuse to press charges. Dennis gets off the hook and the kids leave for home, having had the greatest summer of their lives. Mostly Mudd is punished by his parents because of this scheme.

Cast

* Jonathan Jackson as Morris "Mud" Himmel *

as Dennis Van Welker *

Andrew Keegan Andrew Keegan (born January 29, 1979) is an American actor best known for his roles in television shows including '' Trinkets'', '' Moesha'', ''Party of Five'' and '' 7th Heaven'' and in films such as ''10 Things I Hate about You'' (1999), '' The ...

as Zack Dell *

Marnette Patterson Marnette Provost Patterson (born April 26, 1980) is an American actress and singer. Early life Patterson was raised as an only child by her mother in Los Angeles, California, where she was born. Her name is her mother's middle name: Marnette. ...

as Trish Prescott * Melody Kay as Gaby Nowicki * Wendy Makkena as Dr. Celeste Dunbar *

Thomas F. Wilson Thomas Francis Wilson Jr. (born April 15, 1959) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen, Griff Tannen, and Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990). He also played coach ...

as Lt. Eliot Hendricks *

M. Emmet Walsh Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935) is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including small but important supporting roles in dozens of major studio features of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in '' B ...

as T.R. Polk * Joshua G. Mayweather as Walter * Hillary Tuck as Betty Stoller * Devin Neil Oatway as Tim * Allison Mack as Heather *

Nathan Cavaleri Nathan Cavaleri (born 18 June 1982) is an Australian blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and a former child actor. He issued two albums as a solo artist, '' Jammin' with the Cats'' (1993) and '' Nathan'' (1994). He has been a member of ...

as Steve *

as Gail *

Peter Scolari Peter Thomas Scolari (September 12, 1955 – October 22, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Michael Harris on '' Newhart'' (1984–1990), Henry Desmond on ''Bosom Buddies'' (1980–1982) and Wayne Szalinski on ''Hon ...

as Donald Himmel *

Michael Zorek Michael Zorek is an American film and television actor who has appeared in films and television series such as ''Private School'', ''Family Ties'', '' The Facts of Life'', ''Hot Moves'', '' The Woman in Red'', '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' Teen Wolf T ...

as Chez Cheez Guy * Ian Christopher Scott as Warren *

Heather DeLoach Heather DeLoach is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the tap dancing "Bee Girl" in the 1992 music video for the hit single " No Rain", by Blind Melon. She also appeared in two episodes of the medical drama '' ER''. Bli ...

as Eileen * Paige Andree as Jill * Leah Theresa Hanner as Debbie * Mooky Arizona as Arnold Spiegel * Kazz Wingate IV as Pete * Kellen McLaughlin as J.D. * Brian Wagner as Lenny * Nicolas Friedman as Ricky * Alyssa Poblador as Nicole * Krystle and Tiffany Mataras as Amber and Ashley * Romy Windsor as Nancy Himmel * Ray Baker as Norris Prescott *

Kate Mulgrew Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red on ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...

as Rachel Prescott *

John Putch John Putch (born July 27, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his recurring role as Bob Morton on the 1970s sitcom '' One Day at a Time'' and as Sean Brody in the film '' Jaws 3-D''. Life and career Putch was born in ...

as Neil Garbus *

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

as Fein *

Maryedith Burrell Maryedith Ann Burrell (née Smith; born May 20, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, film and television producer, writer and documentarian best known for starring roles on the television series '' Fridays'', ''Throb'', Ron Howard's '' Parenth ...

as Gwen Nowicki *

Genie Francis Eugenie Ann Francis (born May 26, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Laura Spencer on the television soap opera ''General Hospital'' from 1977 to present, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2007. Fran ...

as Mrs. Spiegel *

Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. Frakes als ...

as Bob Spiegel *

Peter Onorati Peter Onorati (born May 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on ''Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on ''This Is Us'' (2017–2022), and Jeff Mumford ...

as Karl Dell

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has a score of 17% based on reviews from 12 critics. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a positive review. Maslin thought it could have been predictable and awful but that it had "a funny screenplay", "good-humored direction", and "a nice young cast" who "have television experience, and they bring a sturdy, no-frills professionalism to their roles". Hal Hinson of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' gave it a positive review, and wrote: "Instead of the usual coming-of-age coarseness, this celebration of kid power is a rather tame affair. It's sweet, likable and even vaguely hip." Brian Baker of the ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' gave it 2 out of 5, and was critical of the plot. He says "It depends mostly on Lloyd's crazy characters to hold the narrative together and that works for a brief moment early in the film" and that "No kid is going to buy into a movie that revolves around a geek who isn't a geek and a fat girl who isn't fat." Chris Hicks of the

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

wrote: "The youngsters in the cast are appealing and the film is amusing, though it never quite builds up the head of steam it seems to be aiming for."

Home media

''Camp Nowhere'' was released on VHS on June 6, 1995, and released on DVD August 5, 2003. Mill Creek Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray on October 11, 2011.

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films ...

released the film on DVD and Blu-ray April 17, 2018.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0109369 1990s teen comedy films 1994 films American teen comedy films Hollywood Pictures films Films about summer camps 1994 directorial debut films 1994 comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films