Camp Nowhere

Camp Nowhere is a 1994 film directed by Jonathan Prince, written by Andrew Kurtzman and Eliot Wald, and starring Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Lloyd, Melody Kay, Andrew Keegan, and Marnette Patterson. The film also features Jessica Alba in her first film role. This film is rated PG by the MPAA, this is the first family film under Disney's Hollywood Pictures banner.

Plot
Morris "Mud" Himmel has a problem – his parents want to send him away to a summer computer camp. He hates going to summer camp, and would do anything to get out of it. Talking to his friends, he realizes that they are all facing the same sentence: a boring summer camp. Together with his friends, he hatches a plan to create their own summer camp with no parents, no counselors, and no rules. They blackmail former drama teacher Dennis Van Welker into helping. He had bought an AMC Gremlin and failed to make most of the payments and is being pursued by soon-to-retire collector T.R. Polk, and agrees to help the kids in return for $1,000.

With Dennis's help, the kids trick all the parents into sending them to the camp, and then rent a campground with a cabin on a lake. Some parents believe it is a fat camp, while others believe it is a military camp, or an acting camp. The kids use the money their parents had paid for camp to buy toys and food. After a little while, the kids get bored and wonder if they should just return home. Mud goes to Dennis for help, and with a bribe, Dennis soon finds ways to keep things interesting and help the kids have fun.

The parents want to come visit their kids, despite being told that there are no parents' days. Mud makes a plan to trick the parents and, along with his friends, they keep the camp concealed. In a matter of hours, they fix up the camp and set up different scenarios representing the different camps (fat camp, computer camp, military camp, etc.) Their plan works and the parents don't suspect a thing. T.R. Polk then meets a state trooper who was also seeking Dennis, and the two find their way into the camp and catch him. The police are called and Mud finds Dennis running away from the authorities. Mud is confronted by the police and protects Dennis from them, but soon after Dennis turns himself in. Mud explains that the whole thing was his idea, and uses the rest of the money to pay T.R. Polk, who'll retire with a perfect record. Dennis gets off the hook and the kids leave for home, having had the greatest summer of their lives.

Reception
The film received poor reviews, scoring a 10% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though it continues to have a cult following.

Cast

 * Jonathan Jackson – Morris "Mud" Himmel
 * Christopher Lloyd – Dennis Van Welker
 * Melody Kay – Gaby Nowicki
 * Andrew Keegan – Zack Dell
 * Marnette Patterson – Trish Prescott
 * Wendy Makkena – Dr. Celeste Dunbar
 * Thomas F. Wilson – Lt. Eliot Hendricks
 * Hillary Tuck – Betty Stoller
 * Devin Neil Oatway – Tim
 * Allison Mack – Heather
 * Jessica Alba – Gail
 * Ian Christopher Scott – Warren
 * Nathan Cavaleri – Steve
 * Heather DeLoach – Eileen
 * Paige Andree – Jill
 * Leah Theresa Hanner – Debbie
 * Mooky Arizona – Arnold Spiegel
 * Kazz Wingate IV – Pete
 * Kellen McLaughlin – J.D.
 * Brian Wagner – Lenny
 * Joshua G. Mayweather – Walter
 * Nicolas Friedman – Ricky
 * Alyssa Poblador – Nicole
 * Tiffany Mataras – Ashley
 * Krystal Mataras – Amber
 * Peter Scolari – Donald Himmel
 * Romy Windsor – Nancy Himmel
 * M. Emmet Walsh – T.R. Polk
 * Ray Baker – Norris Prescott
 * Kate Mulgrew – Rachel Prescott
 * John Putch – Neil Garbus
 * Burgess Meredith – Fein
 * Maryedith Burrell – Gwen Nowicki
 * Peter Onorati – Karl Dell
 * Jonathan Frakes – Bob Spiegel
 * Genie Francis – Mrs. Spiegel

The cast features several cameos from General Hospital and Star Trek alums. Jonathan Jackson's on screen mother in General Hospital, Genie Francis, appears with her real life husband Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek's William Riker. Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek's Captain Janeway, also appears in the film.