It stars Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Marguerite Moreau, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Christopher Meloni, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Zak Orth, A.D. Miles, and members of MTV's sketch comedy group The State. It was written by Wain and Showalter. The film has been selected to be part of The A.V. Club's New Cult Canon.

The movie is based on the experiences Wain had while attending Camp Modin, a Jewish camp, then located in Canaan, Maine, and Showalter had at Camp Mohawk in the Berkshires in Cheshire, Massachusetts[citation needed]. During one scene in the movie, the counselors take a trip into Waterville, Maine, which is not far from the camp. It is also a parody of summer camp movies made during the 1980s such as Meatballs.

Filmed in the late spring, it rained for a large portion of the filming schedule. Exterior shots were filmed catch-as-catch can, and in many scenes, rain can be seen outside during an interior scene, and in the next scene the characters will leave the building and the sun is shining. The film itself follows The State's irreverent humor, with lots of absurdism, non-sequiturs, and toilet humor.

The film was shot at Camp Towanda in Honesdale, PA [4] and is rated R for adult humor, language, and sexual content.