Screening: Big Boy

So often sidelined for washboard abs, the “big boys” finally get their sweet, funny coming-of-age tale, spiced with just the right amount of age-appropriate eroticism. When a “cousin’s-only camping trip” to California is infiltrated by a new ‘bear’ of a boyfriend, a 14-year-old contends with dangers both savage and hormonal.

Jamie (Isaac Krasner)—an artsy, domestic teenager with a penchant for overdramatization—is the yin to Dan’s yang. Dan (an alluring David Johnson III) is the testosterone-rich partner of his beloved cousin Allie (Dora Madison Burge). At first, Dan is just another nuisance, like the mosquitos and Jamie’s horny, hilariously overconfident brother, Will (Taj Cross, giving major Timothée Chalamet vibes). But, with Dan’s encouragement and motivated by his unspoken attraction, Jamie goes from being unable to set up a tent to starting his own campfire, and unleashes his inner Barefoot Contessa on Dan’s basic burgers. As Jamie awakens to his talents and sexuality, writer-director Corey Sherman surprises the audience with the cinematic riches they will find in the wilderness: a winning, kind-hearted film about the desperation to be cool and all that can be shared across the gay-straight divide.