These last twelve months have made me realise just how much the phrase “good intentions” annoys the hell out of me. Especially when it comes to movies, as it’s kind of a depressing experience to watch something that clearly has its heart in the right place… but the execution just isn’t there. I’ve covered quite a few movies that fall under this category, and I’ll likely be talking about some of them again when it comes time for the year-end lists, but honestly, I think this one hurts the most. It’s a coming-of-age LGBTQ rom-com, set in my hometown of Sydney, and I really, really wanted to champion this. But alas, this is just cringe, and not the good kind.
The story of Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw), a high schooler trying to muster the courage to ask her crush to the Year 12 formal, this is a magical-realism-ish outing where Ellie is mentored by the ghost of her dead aunt Patty (Julia Billington). The whole schtick of someone having conversations with a person no-one else can see has long since been played out, and rather than put any fresh spins on it, it just presents it straight. I mean, the scene where Patty explains how she’s Ellie’s ‘fairy’ godmother was not worth explaining like it is here. This is not how camp works, people.
As for the romance side of things, this certainly captures the awkwardness of Ellie’s situation. Asking people out in high school is difficult enough, let alone having to guess what team your crush might play for, and even as someone who only came out right as high school ended, I can totally relate to her position here. Or, rather, I would have been able to relate to her if the chemistry between her and Abbie (Zoe Terakes) wasn’t so damn strained. It doesn’t highlight the struggle of gay dating as a teenager as much as it just… gawks at it, and when coupled with the spectral intrusions, it comes across more like we’re watching Ellie on the verge of a nervous breakdown. With how TV-friendly the tone of the whole production is (right down to censoring the word ‘cunt’ with a bird cawing, which might be the most un-Australian thing I’ve seen for one of these reviews), that’s not an implication that fits.
Then there’s the attempt at queer solidarity with Patty’s backstory, and even that of Ellie’s mother (Marta Dusseldorp), which admittedly adds a bit of fire to the core intent of showing a meeting point between queer past and queer present. Except, rather than creating the intended communal tone, where us gays can stick together and weather any storm, it comes across more like browbeating them young people today that the activists of yore walked so they could run. It’s more condescending than comforting.
This is just a mess, and a disappointing one at that. It’s the kind of story that is definitely in need within the mainstream, as even for the home country of one of the greatest gay pride celebrations in the world, this isn’t something that comes around every day. But that only makes its shortcomings that much harder to swallow, as everything from the tone to the sense of humour to the inclusion of real-world history hits a sour note, making for an unpleasant viewing experience that I dearly wish wasn’t so.
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