Outfest: "Big Boys" - Film Review
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist.
It might not be the most eloquent turn of phrase, but the first thought that came to my mind as the credits rolled was “thank goodness I never have to be fourteen again.” Big Boys is awkward, stumbling adolescence personified. Jamie (Isaac Krasner) is preparing to go on a weekend camping trip with his brother (Taj Cross) and their older, cooler cousin Allie (Dora Madison). Jamie’s enthusiasm is dampened when his mother (Emily Deschanel) says that Allie’s boyfriend, Dan (David Johnson III), is tagging along. Once the trip gets underway, Jamie develops an unrequited crush on Dan.
The idea of a crush that never comes to fruition is an all-too-common coming-of-age reality during the painful years of middle school. How many hours have we as a society spent staring longingly at the object of our affection through floppy bangs, metaphorically or literally? For Jamie, and so many queer teens, the crush never makes it beyond longing from afar. It’s hard to put emotions into words and even harder when that confession is wrapped in a disclosure of identity. Early on in the film, it’s unclear whether Jamie has even fully accepted that he’s queer. So many of the first crushes of queer kids are a strange mix of attraction and awe. Jamie sees Dan and wants to emulate him. Match his attitude, his carefree nature, and his kindness. And there’s also a part of Jamie that wants to be the one who’s dating Dan.
Photo by Gus Bendinelli Photo Courtesy Perfect Dog Pictures
Big Boys feels like the little brother to Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade. Both are painfully uncomfortable, yet still humorous without having anxious, awkward main characters be the butt of the joke. The laughter that comes from these characters and the cringe moments they find themselves in bubbles out from the audience. They aren’t laughing at Jamie’s terribly awkward attempts at continuing a conversation with Dan because the movie is built to make fun of Jamie. Instead, they’re remembering being Jamie with their own crush that reduced their IQ to zero. That’s how the movie is structured. Big Boys is built to place the audience firmly in Jamie’s shoes. To force them to remember the yearning, the confusion, the loneliness that comes with being fourteen and desperately trying to figure out your place in this world.
Having a crush is terrible, but you don’t want to lose a second of that feeling. Of the high you get when they look at you, compliment you, or talk to you. Big Boys feels like that. The adolescent awkwardness hits so close to home that you want to look away, but writer/director Corey Sherman treats this story with so much care that it makes you want to stay in this world for a long time. The lead performance from Krasner is achingly honest, and so warm-hearted and genuine that you can’t help but fall in love with him from the onset. There is no blinking-neon-lights-coming-out moment or any feeling of an after school special. This camping trip weekend is a beginning for Jamie. One that he’ll look back on twenty years from now and reminisce about how young and stupid he once was. How young and stupid we all once were.
Big Boys is viscerally nostalgic. It’s an emotional time machine with no frills or fuss. A sweet snapshot of the ineffable experience of growing up.
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