The Floaters

“Editing oneself can be challenging in virtually any creative endeavor (especially for a filmmaker), so imagine how difficult that can be when eight contributors – three screenwriters, four story sources and a director – are simultaneously at work on the same movie project (talk about a production put together by committee). Unfortunately, that’s what bogs down this latest offering from filmmaker Rachel Israel, a comedy about life at a prototypical Jewish summer camp. One might be tempted to think that a setting as distinctive as this should be rife with singular comic potential, but it’s rarely tapped into as effectively as it could have been, incorporating a wealth of extraneous, incompatible material that dilutes what should have been the focus of its central premise. When 40-year-old struggling musician Nomi (Jackie Tohn) is kicked out of her rock band, she’s desperate to find work. Thankfully, her longtime friend, summer camp counselor Mara (Sarah Podemski), comes to Nomi’s rescue, offering her a job as a staffer at Camp Daveed, the idyllic retreat where they spent summers together in their youth. Nomi is assigned to work as a creativity facilitator, helping directionless campers “find their voices.” She’s charged with overseeing a group of residents affectionately known as “floaters,” campers who haven’t signed up for any particular activities and are essentially “floating” through the summer (not to mention their lives in general). In Mara’s eyes, who would be better than a creative sort like Nomi to help these lost souls find their way (even though, at middle age, she’s still something of a “floater” herself). Now, if the narrative had been limited to that story thread and the experiences of its primary players, the picture might have found a solid footing for itself. Regrettably, though, this release pulls in a wide range of other plotlines that detract from its core. The inclusion of segments that attempt to add thoughtful, heartwarming depth to the coming of age process (reminiscent of movies like “The Breakfast Club” (1985)) are certainly welcome and suitably complementary here, but so much else gets perplexingly piled on that it undermines the viability of the project. Moreover, for a picture billed as a comedy, it could stand to be a lot funnier and more on point with its principal subject matter. Ironically, it’s puzzling how a film about a Jewish summer camp somehow simultaneously manages to be both not Jewish enough or so “inside” that its humor may leave many unfamiliar viewers on the outside looking in (inspired though it might be). And some of the picture’s best cast assets, such as Seth Green and Steve Guttenberg, are relegated to little more than walk-on roles that one can’t help but wonder why they were brought in on the production in the first place. To be sure, I sincerely believe “The Floaters” had its heart in the right place, but it’s so sorely in need of focus and repackaging that its heart and much of its potential are watered down, qualities that were undeniably present in the director’s debut feature, “Keep the Change” (2017), that are noticeably absent here. I guess it must be true that too many cooks can ruin the stew. And that’s anything but kosher.”