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Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

LGBT films are a bit of an odd bunch. There is always some coming of age or realization, element involved and for most of the dramas, there is some element of rejection. Be it by parents, friends, extended family, a first love which ends up really being an infatuation, in many ways they all seem the same. Yet, because the market isn’t saturated, at least in terms of not only accessible but marketed LGBT films, it hasn’t reached that point yet where stories like this one seem generic. Though, considering how simple, in many ways, this movie is, perhaps I speak too soon?

Trigger Warning(s):

Bullying (Homophobia) | Grotesque Imagery (Stage Makeup) | Vomit

Noted Actor(s)

Oscar (Connor Jessup) | Peter (Aaron Abrams) | Buffy (Isabella Rossellini) | Wilder (Aliocha Schneider)

Characters & Storyline

Oscar has primarily grown up with his father Peter. To say the least, Peter is homophobic. Not to the point he’d march against gay rights and what have you but, arguably, like many, he tolerates the existence of gay people but wouldn’t necessarily want to accept them in his family. Especially his son. But the story isn’t about Peter, nor really his relationship with Oscar. What this movie is about is Oscar trying to get away from his town for a new life in New York, the ability for new experiences, of which one includes falling in love with a boy. So when a young man named Wilder is hired at the same Home Depot-esque store, may dreams come true for this talented makeup artists?

Highlights

The Hamster (Buffy)

Usually, pets are just accessories and not much more but for Oscar his pet Buffy he gives a voice to. She, technically he, is a long-term friend, a confidant, and also one of the few comical characters of a rather drab film.

A Different Kind of Queer Boy

To me, diversity isn’t just showing gay people, showing Black people, and etc, you have to also surpass the stereotypes. Which isn’t to say I don’t support or like the idea of femme men getting their story told on screen, but arguably they hold the flag, they are the ones you often see while it is like masculine men are still in the closet. So with Oscar being into monster makeup and good with his hands, I feel it helps bring a fuller mosaic in terms of what gay people look like and what their interest are. For while, yes, makeup is often associated with gay men, this dude was making these cool ass monsters and hanged out in a tree house and just made his sexuality perhaps the least interesting thing about him.

On The Fence

No Real Romance or Conflict

While Wilder flirts with Oscar, nothing really comes of it. While Peter is homophobic, there is no reconciliation or some big to do about it. The lack of romance and drama is different and I can’t say if that is good or bad. I will say though that it did leave you feeling that perhaps the movie should have then made Oscar’s fears of being hurt or murdered, for being gay a more central focus. That alongside perhaps a fear of anal sex, since one situation seemed to trigger some kind of PTSD.

Overall: Mixed

A part of me wants to label this as Positive (Worth Seeing) but I’m struggling to come up with a way to justify that. For while I can praise the use of the hamster as a means of support and the media continuing to diversify the representation of gay men, I got nothing which justifies sitting and watching a 90-minute movie. No one’s performance is awe-inspiring, every road the story could have gone it just peers with binoculars, and it leaves me with nothing to really say you may get excited about. So, mixed seems like the best option.