Rock Camp: The Movie

Music producer David Fishof’s seasonal Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp is exactly what it sounds like. Since 1996, Fishof has gathered casual music lovers together to forget about their day jobs, form rock bands, and live out their largest dreams for a couple of days. In light weight documentary Rock Camp: The Movie, we follow a few of these proto-rock stars to Hollywood, where they’re coached by “camp counselors" like Paul Stanley, Roger Daltrey, Slash, and other legends of the genre.

Accountants, doctors, parents, and students come together to find confidence and emotional release in performing for the first time, while the famous rockers recall the early days of their stardom. It’s all in good spirit, and even touching on a few occasions. More films should see adults through the joy of discovery, finding childlike excitement in parts of life they never let themselves explore (for that reason Rock Camp may even make for a decent double feature with Pixar’s Soul).

But at the end of the day, a fantasy camp is only a fantasy. While it’s great fun to watch regular people learn to express themselves after meeting their heroes, it’s disheartening to notice how much fame sits at the center of it all. The “fantasy” Rock Camp returns to isn’t just making music — it’s wealth and name recognition. The film doesn’t encourage viewers at home to pick up a secondhand guitar and learn some chords as much as it serves to advertise the camp itself. And given rock and roll’s roots in rebellion, and even its significance during the civil rights era, portraying the genre in terms of its celebrities alone causes some cognitive dissonance. Rock Camp will be worthwhile for fans of the rockers involved who like a feel-good watch, but it doesn’t hold up beyond that.

Throughout the documentary, Alice Cooper, the godfather of shock rock, focuses on how his music has helped him hold onto his youth. He reflects on how men 20 years younger than him look 20 years older, remarking that not pursuing your passions can kill you. It’s a genuine sentiment, but hard to relate to coming from someone who’s lived in the limelight for decades. He jokes about why people should come to Rock Camp: “It’s better than stamp collecting!” Sure, Alice, but compared to airfare, a hotel stay, and steep camp tuition, stamps might as well be free!

Rock Camp: The Movie is available as a virtual cinema release.