Photo courtesy of IFS Daniel Letterle and Joanna Chilcoat star in "Camp," a classic summer camp story of boy meets girl, boy and girl appear in obscure existential drama together.

Summer camp movies are one of the great traditions in cinema. The genre deserves a place right up there with movies about manic depressive piano players, troubled geniuses, couples in New York City and nerdy girls who are made over to become prom queen.

But how does "Camp" stack up against others recent films in the tradition, like "Wet Hot American Summer," and "But I'm a Cheerleader?" Can it even be mentioned in the same breath as "Meatballs" or "Ernest Goes to Camp?" In three words: Yeah, pretty much. The genre never set itself up to particularly high standards, and "Camp" benefits from this.

It should be mentioned, though, that summer camp in this film, "Camp Ovation," is quite different from the summer camps you probably spent your idyllic youth in. Ovation is based on Camp Stagedoor in upstate New York, a summer retreat for kids and teens who love acting, singing and musical theater. Stagedoor's alumni include Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Ian Black, among other actors and actresses. Director Todd Graff, who wrote and directed this film, based his script on his experiences as a camper, then an instructor at Camp Stagedoor.

The film is at its strongest when it drops its many sly references to well-known musicals and dramas. If you were a drama geek, or ever hung out with the drama geeks, you'll understand.

Also, if you always loved musical theater, then the musical numbers (and this film has a couple) will probably be the most enjoyable part of this film for you. If, however, you've always had a firm aversion to musicals, it will not only reaffirm your distaste, but it will give you more things to hate about drama geeks.

Remove the whole drama school aspect of the film, and it plays out like a typical teen movie. Young love, broken hearts, parents who just don't understand, and popular girls who try to steal your boyfriend all make appearance at Camp Ovation.

But, remove the clever references and musical numbers, and you've really taken away all the fun. The rest is too sappy and too deeply steeped in teen movie clichŽs to be of any interest. In fact, when the kindhearted, unpopular girl (played by Joanna Littlecoat) gets her heart broken by the popular new boy (Daniel Letterle) again, you are pretty much convinced she get deserves exactly what she gets. Graff tries hard to pull at your heartstrings, but all the forced drama gets a bit campy.