Awkward teen Adam spends his last high school summer with his big sister, who throws herself into NYC’s lesbian and trans activist scene. In this coming-of-age comedy, Adam and those around him encounter love, friendship and hard truths.
When Adam (Nicholas Alexander) visits his queer sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) in New York City for the summer, he has no idea he will embark on a life-changing journey as he falls in love with Gillian (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a lesbian who mistakes him for a transgender male. While Adam struggles with typical teenage insecurities, he begins to notice Casey has a lot of her own. Suddenly enveloped in Casey’s lifestyle of parties, LGBTQ protests, and even trans camp, Adam finds a friend in Ethan (Leo Sheng), the only male roommate in the apartment.
As his relationships with Gillian deepens, Adam allows her to believe that he is a transgender male, but when things get physical between the two, he is confronted with not only learning about sex for the first time but navigating it from a trans male experience. Confiding in Ethan about his new relationship and sexual inexperience, Adam doesn’t reveal he is pretending to be a trans male.
As the summer comes to an end, Adam realizes he is in love and wanting to continue the relationship, he finally tells Gillian the truth, something she admits she already knew. Gillian reveals that allowing him to continue the lie made her avoid re-evaluating her own sexuality and the fact that she is not actually a lesbian but bisexual. Adam decides to tell Ethan everything which doesn’t go well at first but Ethan does forgive him in the end. Adam never suspects that in return, he will find out the big reveal, that it is Ethan who is the real trans male. After recognizing that she has been living a messy lifestyle with no direction, his sister Casey finds the courage to change her life starting with a trip home to come out to her parents.
I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I did enjoy this film. I thought it was a great coming-of-age story but also educational. It is funny, sweet, and deals with actual insecurities and issues that we all struggle with. Definitely worth seeing and I can already tell this is one many will be talking about.
In select theaters Wednesday, August 14th
