Ring in June the right way with NewFest Pride! This year, we caught a few solid gems we wish to highlight, alongside several highlights we have previously viewed. Catch our full NewFest coverage just after the jump…
Films
CLOSE TO YOU
In his first major cinema role since coming out as trans, Elliot Page leads indie drama Close to You. Page plays a character not at all foreign to his real life persona. Sam, formerly Sammy, has not been home in nearly five years. As a gesture of good faith, he heads off via public transportation for his father’s birthday, hoping to at least show face, if not work on repairing the fractured relationship he has with his family at large. On the journey, Sam bumps into old flame Katherine (Hillary Baack), a sweet deaf woman he went to high school with. I found it unique that Katherine’s deafness earns nary a mention. Assumedly, viewers will long for Sam and Katherine to get back together over the course of the film. The issue with this direction lies not in Katherine being deaf or in Sam being trans, but that neither characters have any genuine chemistry with one another. I will say that the tension between Sam and his family once he returns home presents Close to You at its most effective. Sam, certain his parents are disappointed in him, gets to have a cathartic moment with his father that is easily the best scene. On the other hand, hearing people droning on about pronouns and being generally nasty about transgenderism has grown stale. Nothing here carves out a fresh story with anything significant to say. Witnessing Elliott Page coming into his own, however, definitely feels worthy of celebrating.
GAGA CHROMATICA BALL
Full review at the link.
A HOUSE IS NOT A DISCO
Previously review for 2024’s Cleveland International Film Festival.
MY OLD ASS
(Written by Allison Brown) Have you ever wished you could go back in time and give advice to your younger self? Elliott Labrant (Maisy Stella/Aubrey Plaza) takes advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity in Amazon’s upcoming dramedy, My Old Ass. At a “young and dumb” eighteen years of age, we meet our lead, about to finally escape her quaint farming town by moving to Toronto for college. During a shroom trip in the woods with her friends, Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks), she miraculously summons her thirty-nine-year-old self, whom she lovably deems “my old ass.” Life will soon be transformed forever, but is it for the better or for the worse? Albeit mildly predictable, Megan Park cements her impeccable aptitude for the Gen Z experience following her massive breakout hit, The Fallout. She has found her sweet spot in tackling grief paired with the coming-of-age genre. Pop culture references aplenty, the audience is serenaded with Elliott’s riff on Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” and gifted a snide sneak peek into Penelope Disick’s future. Inevitably, Stella’s feature debut would be remiss if it did not feature her soulful vocals, given her background in musical duo Lennon & Maisy with pop star sister Lennon Stella. A win for the queer community, Elliott provides bisexual representation for an underserved and suppressed niche. Plaza captures an indelible youthfulness in speech and mannerisms, perfectly encapsulating a woman stunted emotionally in her adolescence. Stunning cinematography captures vivid greenery omnipresent on the family land, while also highlighting the beauty and simplicity of floating, pink-hued cranberries and dazzling sunlight. In the vein of 2023’s All of Us Strangers, Park evaluates the merit of a second chance in more ways than one. Another rousing success, My Old Ass is bound to make a splash when arriving to theaters in August.
THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS
Previously reviewed at 2023’s Toronto International Film Festival.
SEBASTIAN
Previously reviewed at 2024’s Sundance Film Festival.
Television
FANTASMAS
Full review at the link.
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