Having religiously read the book series but not having seen the original television show, I thought this VHS goodie was the funnest thing EVAR: with the bass-slapping, clap-happy music; the cutesy, chaste romance; the delicious mean girl villain played by throwing-shade-like-it's-her-job Marla Sokoloff; and the all-star cast of 90s dream queens who were playing thirteen but were actually in their mid-teens but looked like they were in their late teens :~P Upon watching half a hot mess episode of the television show (which just went off Netflix), with its age-accurate, plain-faced kid-vid actresses, I had to pop in my new DVD to revel in the shine and glory of its Hollywood treatment. The exposition and dialogue are indeed hokey at times, but the main summer camp plot and the subplots of Kristy's ne'er-do-well dad coming back and Stacey's flirtation with older Luca are really quite inspired and deftly intertwined, in a narrative sense. The adult actors are also very good without pulling focus. My teen girl crushes of Rachael Leigh Cook, Larisa Oleynik, and Bre Blair are still sweet, effervescent, and glamorous, respectively. I also found bonehead Alan Gray, played by now-off-the-radar Aaron Michael Metchik, inexplicably attractive. Schuyler Fisk, whom I grew to love in "i'm reed fish," anchors the movie with her tough yet vulnerable tomboy-with-an-impressive-if-underdeveloped-streak-of-second-wave-feminism.

Of course it's a cheesy kid movie, however, I was obsessed with the book series as a child. I also watched the Disney channel TV series, so when the movie came out I was really excited and watched it all the time. So for me, it's still great!