tek's rating: ½

Magic Camp (PG), on Disney+
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The movie is about a camp called the Institute of Magic (not "Magic Camp"), which is run by a magician named Preston (Jeffrey Tambor). The camp is divided into four different teams, based on playing card suits. The best team is the Diamonds, and the worst is the Hearts. The other teams don't factor into the story at all. The Diamonds' counselor is a famous magician named Kristina Darkwood (Gillian Jacobs). The Hearts' counselor is a cab driver (some sites say banker, for some reason, I have no idea why) named Andy Duckerman (Adam Devine). Andy and Kristina used to be partners in a magic act, but Andy now bears a grudge against Kristina for having gone solo. They both used to be campers at the Institute, and Andy was the best magician there (he won the coveted "golden wand" prize three years in a row). So I'm not entirely sure why his own magic career never took off, but whatever.

The main camper that we get to know is a Heart named Theo, who is pretty good with cards, but only when no one's watching him. He learned from his father, who is now deceased. His closest friend at camp is Nathan, who has a ton of allergies. Aside from them, the kid we get to know best is Ruth, who is obsessed with bunnies. There's also a kid named Judd, whose father is a famous magician, but Judd isn't really interested in magic. We do find out that he has a magic-related aptitude, however. There's also a girl named Vera, an antisocial kid who sometimes mocks her fellow Hearts, though I felt we could have gotten to know her better. And... I'm not sure if there were any other kids in the Hearts who we didn't get to know at all. The only Diamonds we get to know are a bully (and last year's golden wand winner) named Vic, and a girl named Janelle, who becomes a potential romantic interest for Theo. She also seems to be the only Diamond who isn't a jerk.

Anyway... Andy is disappointed to learn that his whole team are newbies who don't really know any magic, and he becomes discouraged at trying to teach them. At one point he even thinks of quitting. But then he gets over it and works harder to help the kids gain some skills. And it's all in preparation for a big competition/talent show on their last night at camp, which is attended by all their parents. I don't want to say how that goes for anyone, but there's also a surprise opportunity for Andy that could keep him away from the show, much to the disappointment of his students. And that's all I want to say about the plot. I found it a reasonably fun and amusing movie, which I'm glad to have seen, even if it wasn't exactly... magical.


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