Review: Rock Camp | 3 out of 4 Stars | Not Rated
By Kyle Osborne
A cynical person would say that “Rock Camp” is really just a long infomercial for Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, and maybe it is. But I don’t care – the ordinary people who attend these camps are not cynical and the rock stars who attend as camp counselors and instructors are down-to-earth and seem to be genuinely into this concept. There are a couple of caveats: I’m sure these stars aren’t doing this for free, and many of them have a personal friendship with the guy who started this all.
That guy is David Fishof and if you’ll forgive me for repeating myself: he also seems like the least cynical guy who ever worked as a sports agent, then a music agent and tour producer. This is the guy who helped assemble many of Ringo Starr’s All-Star Bands, yet we see him puttering to work on a modest little scooter.
In 1997, Fishof came up with the idea of Fantasy Camp, where ordinary people at varying skill levels can jam with big stars over a long weekend in Vegas (or other locations) and live out there Rock and Roll dreams. It’s expensive – a quick check of the website has prices up to $4500, not including hotel and airfare or other add-ons(I chuckled when I read “financing available” on the site).
The movie smartly focuses not so much on the stars – I mean, we’ve seen Roger Daltrey, Paul Stanley and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin for decades. But the personal stories behind the folks who spend that money and make that leap are compelling. There’s the obviously wealthy lawyer who loves Megadeth and Judas Priest, among others, and seeing him grin as wide as a mosh pit just makes you feel good. Later we learn that he has a son who was born with severe birth defects – really heartbreaking challenges – but seeing his now 17 year old suit up to play bass at camp is one of several feel-good moments.
It would’ve been easy to make fun of some of these fans who are over-the-top and possibly batshit crazy – instead we see that there is a huge amount of courage, not just money, that it takes for these guys to take the journey that starts in New jersey for one woman who’s not a bad drummer, and ends up in Vegas as she decides to try singing lead and leaving her drums behind.
Is she a good singer? That is totally not the point. There are dozens of Rock Stars, many who are interviewed on camera. Rather than make a huge list of them, I’ll just encourage you to watch the trailer below.
More Cities May Have Already Added – So Check Local Listings
OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021
Amherst, MA – Amherst Cinema
Athens, GA – Cine Athens
Atlanta, GA – Left Film Society
Austin, TX – Violet Crown Cinemas
Bedford, NY – Bedford Playhouse
Bellingham, WA – Pickford Film Center
Bethlehem, NH – Colonial Theater
Billings, MT – Art House Billings
Boulder, CO – International Film Series
Buffalo, NY – North Park
Charlottesville, VA – Violet Crown Cinemas
Chicago, IL – Music Box Theater
Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Cinemtheque
Cleveland, OH – Cedar Lee Cinemas
Columbus, OH – Gateway Film Center
Concord, NH – Red River
Dallas, TX – Angelika Anywhere
Dayton, OH – Neon Theater
Detroit, MI – Cinema Detroit
El Cerrito, CA – Rialto Cinemas Cerrito
Florence, OR – City Lights Cinemas
Honolulu, HI – Angelika Anywhere
Ithaca, NY – Cinemapolis
Key West, FL – Tropic Cinema
Lake Forest, IL – Gorton community Center
Lakeland, FL – Polk theater
Larkspur, CA – Lark Theater
Los Angeles, CA – Laemmle Theaters
Long Beach, WA – Neptune Theater
Miami, FL – O-Cinema
Minneapolis, MN – MSP Film Society
Minneapolis, MN – Sound Unseen
Montclair, NJ – Montclair Film
New York, NY – Angelika Anywhere
Newburgh, NY – Downing Film Center
Newport, RI – Jane Pickens
Orlando, FL – Enzian Theater
Oxford, MS – Oxford Film Festival
Pelham, NY – Picturehouse
Peoria, IL – Landmark Peoria 12
Phoenix, AZ – Film Bar
Rosendale, NY – Rosendale Theater
Sacramento, CA – Angelika Anywhere
San Diego, CA – Angelika Anywhere
San Francisco, CA – Balboa
San Francisco, CA – Vogue Theater
Santa Fe, NM – Violet Crown Cinemas
Sarasota, Fl – Burns Court Cinema
Seattle, WA – SIFF Cinema
Sebastopol, CA – Rialto Cinemas
Sonoma, CA – Sebastiani Theater
Tampa, FL – Tampa Theater
Three Oaks, MI – Vickers Theater
Tucson, AZ – Loft Cinema
Vancouver, WA – Vancity Cinema
Washington DC – Angelika Anywhere
Winston-Salem, NC – a/perture
OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021
Chicago, IL – Gene Siskel Film Center
Denver, CO – Sie Film Center
Phoenix, AZ – Cinema Society
Salina, KS – Salina Art Center
San Diego, CA – Cinema Society
