Man Camp

Have I got the Father’s Day film for you! Nate James Bakke’s Man Camp leans right into the “My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad” story and tells a sweet tale of the trials and tribulations of becoming a “new dad.”

The opening moments set the stage using several stick figure drawings of the Mann family. No one loved their father more than Adam (Daniel Cummings), Tim (Scott Kruse), and Kevin (Erik Stocklin). To them, dad was Superman. Father Mann was a man’s man. The film’s title comes from the time he built a log cabin in the woods with his bare hands, and then every summer, he would take his sons there to learn man skills in the manly wilderness. As fathers do, they die as not even dad can beat the big “C.” In remembrance of their father, the boys, now adults, head to the cabin for Man Camp.

“…in stumbles Alan—the man who is about to become the siblings’ ‘new dad.'”

This year, Man Camp has a huge wrinkle. Upon arrival, the boys stumble upon a candle-lit living room with their scantily-clad mother, Theresa (Tammy Kaitz), lying on the floor. Oh no, mom got the dates of Man Camp mixed up, and not only was she caught with her pants down, in stumbles Alan (Pete Gardner)—the man who is about to become the siblings “new dad.”

Now the real plot of Man Camp is revealed. No one can replace original dad, especially potential new dad, Alan. He’s a wimp and the polar opposite of old dad. The boys concoct a plan to send mom home, so they can get to know and destroy Alan before he can become their new dad. They put him through the wringer, which involves a great deal of pain and humiliation. Can Alan survive the weekend and prove his love for Theresa? Can the boys break Alan’s spirit or, better yet, uncover his dark secret…if it even exists.