I was never one of the kids who went away to a traditional summer camp, so I had to live vicariously through the kids on my TV screen. Summer camp movies are a fun genre that have several staples: water sports, boy/girl awkwardness, and camp fires. I'm not sure why this resonates within so many of us (especially with that whole "boy awkwardness" bit) but it seems to be a popular theme for several summertime films.

While so many of the camp films are of the horror variety (Sleepaway Camp, Summer Camp Nightmare, Friday the 13th), there are also the funny ones that tug at the heart strings. Summer camp means friendship and crushes, at least that's what I've learned from my favorites:

Camp

If you're looking for an all-out gay summer experience, musical theater camp is surely the place for you. Unfortunately, the guys have most of the fun in Camp. But Ellen Lucas (Joanna Chilcoat) at least gets to make out with camp hottie Vlad before he hooks up with everyone else, and she also does a great performance of "And I'm Telling You" in a production of Dreamgirls. Though the cast of this 2003 film was largely unknown, it was endearingly sweet and fun to watch, like a queer singalong.

Camp Nowhere

When you're young, movies where kids take matters into their own hands are always a hit. Creating your own summer camp with your parents' money? Far-fetched, yes; ideal, totally. A young Jessica Alba has a cameo in this ensemble film that starred Jonathan Jackson and Andrew Keegan. But the real prize of the film: bikini-clad Marnette Patterson, brilliantly named Trish. … continue reading

Depending on where you live and whether you pay attention to American baseball, you may be aware that the Boston Red Sox will face the Colorado Rockies tonight in game 1 of the World Series. I care because I'm a Red Sox fan (of the intrepid variety — living in New York). But, although I like baseball, I don't like that's it's so exclusively a boy sport.

For the most part, girls are relegated to the separate, but unequal, realm of softball. (Before you yell at me, I'm not denigrating softball or softball players. I'm just saying that no one who isn't directly connected to the sport pays attention to it.) Of course, there is a history of women playing baseball on a national scale. There were the league-less “bloomer girls” teams in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the All-American Girls Baseball League in the 1940s and '50s. Additionally, a handful of women played in the men's Negro Leagues in the 1950s.

But still, baseball is about the boys, both in real life and in entertainment. Occasionally in sitcoms, you'll get a fish-out-of-water premise of moms coaching baseball. Remember when Mrs. Brady took over baseball and Mr. Brady had to cook with the girls? (They both learned important lessons that day.) (I have, however, heard that there was a great moment on Buffy when a slayer suddenly got her powers while at bat.)

At the suggestion of a friend, I thought I'd take a brief look at women-in-baseball movies. And my look was brief because there ain't much to see.

1. A League of Their Own (1992) … continue reading