Comedy

Heartstopper Review | An Irresistible Gay Teen Drama

Published

11 months ago

April 22, 2022

Based on Alice Oseman’s beloved graphic novels, Netflix’s bite-sized adaptation of Heartstopper continues to kick the door wide open for queer stories on the small screen. In the same vain as Young Royals and Dear Victor, Heartstopper’s exploration of queer teen romance is just as endearing, if not made more real and lovable by some incredible performances by Joe Locke and Kit Connor who play the show’s main high-school sweethearts.

Heartstopper owes its incredible binge-factor to its main focus on the story of two British teens at Truham Boys School, Charlie (Locke) and Nick (Connor) and how their entanglement perfectly represents the highs and lows of young romance. Manoeuvring alongside our main characters’ connection are some other, deeply adorable queer-centric stories – from a pair of secret lesbians at the nearby all-girls grammar school, to the perspective of a trans girl navigating life outside Truham; all of which tangle throughout the show’s eight chapters, giving a genuine take on teen love and friendship during the digital age.

Photo: Netflix

While Euphoria is a ridiculously over-the-top representation of high school life with actors well-in their twenties playing teens, Heartstopper instead follows leads and supporting characters that feel like real teenagers, which doesn’t help the waterworks when it comes to some incredibly emotional moments in the show.

What the show decides not to focus on is sex and swearing, which is usual when it comes to these kinds of stories. Instead, Heartstopper goes down a more wholesome route, diluting some of the web comic’s more serious topics in favour of a more family-friendly teen drama. That’s more than acceptable, but it may leave the show not exactly suitable for everyone for how young it is leaning, despite how charming it is. It’ll be interesting to see how the web comic’s strong fanbase take to these changes, but it feels like a good move for the most part.

That being said, Heartstopper brilliantly doesn’t leave out realistic aspects that come to growing up queer in Britain; our main characters are never far from bullies or trolls. With how young the show’s audience is targeting towards, this feels like a great move on showing how to approach these pressures that make-up everyday life for teenagers.

Overall, Heartstopper is easily destined to prove a success for Netflix; from the authentic feel of all the friendships and relationships depicted to the enjoyable ride that comes with all eight chapters, this show is a welcome addition to the increasingly queer canon that is flying into the mainstream.

FILM RATING

Comedy

A24 Sets Ensemble Disaster Comedy ‘Y2K’ starring Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell + More

Published

4 days ago

March 23, 2023

Darian Scalamoni

A24 is coming off a major Oscars coup with its Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, but now, they’re headed for a major ensemble comedy film from the lens of Saturday Night Live‘s own Kyle Mooney. Per Deadline, it appears that Mooney will direct the disaster film titled Y2K which comes from a script from Evan Winter.

The movie boasts a major ensemble that includes the following: Jaeden Martell (It), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Mason Gooding (Scream VI), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Tim Heidecker (Us), Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), music artist The Kid Laroi and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless). The film is set on NYE 1999, where two High School loners (Martell and Dennison) decide to crash a big party before the end of the millennium, however, when the clock strikes midnight, it becomes a disaster unlike anything they could have ever imagined.

A24 will back the pic that also features Jonah Hill and The Bear creator Christopher Storer amongst its behind-the-scenes producing partners. With such a major ensemble, it seems like it could be a mixture of This Is the End with touches of Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s within the 90s-set disaster comedy.

Martell is probably the most recognizable actor amongst the ensemble having starred in the It films as the younger version of Bill Denbrough. He also has appeared in recent years in films such as Knives Out, St. Vincent and Netflix’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. He’s also the titular character in Apple’s series, Defending Jacob and is set to lead the upcoming reboot of The Lost Boys alongside Noah Jupe and Charlene Amoia.

Zegler is best known for her debut role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story in 2021. Her star power continues to rise as she’s already joined DC’s superhero universe for Shazam! Fury of the Gods which is currently in theaters. She’ll also play Snow White in Disney’s 2024 live-action remake of the iconic animated film and lead the upcoming prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes alongside Hunter Schafer, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis.

Dennison first came on the scene when he starred in Taika Waititi’s indie dramedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople with Sam Neill. He followed that up with a major role in Deadpool 2 and then later joined the cast of Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021. Gooding is one of the starring members of the ensemble in Scream VI, which is currently in theaters. Hechinger starred in the first season of The White Lotus as the son of Connie Britton and Steve Zahn and will next appear in Kraven the Hunter. Additionally, the older cast members in Silverstone and Heidecker are best known for roles in Clueless and Jordan Peele’s Us respectively.

FILM RATING

Comedy

Once Upon a Time in Ukraine | Official Trailer

What if Taras Shevchenko put down his pen and took a samurai sword into his hands?

Published

5 days ago

March 22, 2023

Staff

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Comedy

Release Date:

April 14, 2023

Director:

Roman Perfilyev

Cast:

Roman Lutskyi, Sergey Strelnikov, Kateryna Slyusar

Plot Summary:

FILM RATING

Comedy

No Hard Feelings | Starring Jennifer Lawrence

Lawrence’s character portrays the “ne’er-do-well” who answers a Craigslist ad that was placed to hire a date for an introverted and socially awkward teen boy, by his mother and father, who also just so happens to be preparing for college soon.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 9, 2023

Staff