Family Camp Parent Guide

I am a person of faith who appreciates those rare cinematic gems that deftly weave the struggles and blessings that come to those who journey on the path of finding God. In Family Camp there are struggles and blessings, as well as characters journeying on a literal path. But where it leads is far from a carefully crafted message extolling the benefits of enduring faith and God.

As the title promises, this movie takes place at a church camp where families presumably come together to seek spiritual reflection while having some fun. The Ackerman family doesn’t seem to be finding much of either. Any hope their pastor (Mark Christopher Lawrence) had of helping them and other families, like the Sanders, come and reap the joy of a religious retreat is lost in a never-ending itinerary of competitive matchups that only bring the worst out of these campers. Instead of opportunities to become good sports, the lead characters find more satisfaction exchanging smack talk and slapstick violence – two ingredients that take up the vast majority of the screen time.

In the opening minutes, it’s no surprise these two families are forced to share the same yurt – and it’s even less of a shocker to discover fathers Tommy Ackerman (Tommy Woodard) and Eddie Sanders (Eddie James) are anything but compatible. Tommy can’t disconnect from his investment job long enough to say a meaningful prayer and Eddie is bordering on psychosis trying to attain father-of-the-year status. In even more desperate roles (in both uses of the term) are their wives, Grace and Victoria (Leigh-Allyn Baker, Gigi Orsillo), who play somewhat-demeaned second fiddles to this testosterone pair.

The script’s journey has an ending more predictable than the “amen” at the end of a rousing benediction. And the pews of this cinematic church are stuffed with stereotyped characters that seem to be irresistible choices for filmmakers. But the biggest question I have is, to whom are these movie creators hoping to give this somewhat irreverent and always clichéd sermon? Watching this film made me squirm in my seat while I thought of any non-believer that might have accidently bought a ticket to this romp. Certainly, such souls would only have confirmed all their misinformed beliefs about people of faith. Fortunately, the handful of people sharing the enormous theater with me were frequently laughing… I can only assume they are part of the choir to whom this movie was intended to preach.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.