“We’re in love. We just want to be together. What’s wrong with that?”

Tom’s rating: Coming away with only one possible triggering moment out of an entire summer camp actually ain’t that bad if you think about it…

Tom’s review: I haven’t written a movie review in a bit and felt it necessary to come out of my hiatus to join in on the Mutant Summer Camp. Just last week I was happy to see Asteroid City from Wes Anderson, and ever since exiting the theater, I’ve felt it almost a necessity to find some time to watch and review Moonrise Kingdom, a wonderful movie (or should I say “film” – this is Wes Anderson we’re talking about here) that centers around the setting of a summer scout camp.

Mind you, scout camp isn’t what this film is about. It’s actually a young love story with all the quirky, high-brow, almost-a-laugh moments that Anderson is famous for, and as expected, Moonrise Kingdom successfully delivered on the aesthetic that millions of fans have come to love. You have several oddly named characters (check), a gaggle of talented actors who definitely didn’t get paid what they’re worth (check), and meticulously composed scenes with just the right lighting and color (triple check).

The basic plot here is that Sam and Suzie are misunderstood kids (Suzie is given to a stabby type of rage and Sam is an intellectually gifted orphan) who became pen pals after Sam approached Suzie at a church play. As it turns out, visiting scouts go to the church yearly as part of their summer camp to watch a play, and Sam had his eye on his favorite Raven-costumed girl. Over the course of the year, they formed that type of bond only pen pals can and hatched a plan to meet and run away together.

Now, to be completely transparent here, this is a PG-13 movie that features 12-year-olds in a second-base type of sexual situation. In 2012, that might have been slightly weird. In 2023, that can be problematic and triggering for people. I guess that in my eyes, it was relatable in a way. I mean, look, I didn’t get to second base when I was 12 years old (much to my parents’ thankfulness), but kissing, holding hands, and young love was absolutely on my mind.

As for further personal similarities, not only was I in a few church plays, but I also had a pen pal, which all was probably a very ’70s and ’80s thing to experience when you were a kid. In my personal mythos, the pen pal was from a city about an hour away from where I lived, and we met at a waterpark. Unlike Sam and Suzie, we discovered that we were completely different people with different likes.

I also went to Scout Camp as a kid, but never would you have seen any of the kids smoking a pipe, and my scout masters were nothing like Edward Norton. (Side note, has there ever been a Wes Anderson film that didn’t feature at least one character smoking?) Of course, that situational humor found in uncanny-retro-dreamlike slices of life is what makes Anderson’s movies reek of charm. Moonrise Kingdom delivered all of that.

One particular scene I loved was the kayak trip across the channel to the neighboring island and the infiltration of the Mega Scout Camp known as “Camp Lebanon.” Now, that was more like what you’d find at Scout Camp! It was totally believable that there’d be a herd of kids hunkered around a seedy, trading post rep trying to convince him out of his candy – the very same trading post rep who would be willing to trade a non-legal, non-binding marriage license to 12-year-olds in exchange for a can of nickels. What?! It’s totally believable!

If you’re looking for a charming summer-camp-slash-young-love movie that’ll have you smiling from ludicrous scenes that are meticulously filmed with the color, composition, and subject that Anderson is famous for, I’d say Moonrise Kingdom is easily in the top five of his repertoire. Just be aware and be prepared for the problematic area mentioned above.

Part of