Review – BFI Flare Film Festival: Big Boys

Writer/director Corey Sherman has created a plus-size comedy of adolescent awkwardness that will make you cringe and smile over and over again.

Isaac Krasner plays the overweight 14-year-old Jamie, a fastidious, nerdy, annoying and yet attractive boy slowly coming to terms with his Queerness. When a planned trip to a camp site with irascible brother Will (Taj Cross), and cousin Allie (Dora Madison) is augmented with the addition of Allie’s boyfriend Dan, Jamie is far from happy.

But Dan turns out to be a caring hetero bear, a hairy hunk of a man with an easy manner. With sideways unseen glances, daydreams and night time fantasies, Jamie becomes awkwardly smitten, though no-one notices.

The film is punctuated with awkward silences, teenage reticence and embarrassment that is the core of its comedic appeal. Dan and Jamie bond, to the annoyance of Will, and when the opportunity arises to go into the words alone exploring with Dan, Jamie is the big cat with the cream.

Of course it goes all wrong though there is a delightful fantasy-come-true scene, when Dan strips off his shirt to bind a wound on Jamie’s knee.

LGBTQIsaac Krasner is perfectly nuanced, playing someone two years younger than himself. His ability to fidget when things get tricky and pause and hesitate when his thought processes have to go into overdrive, is absolutely perfect.  David Johnson III produces a warm, sympathetic portrayal as Dan, who finally realises what’s going on and deals with it.

Big Boys is part of BFI’s Flare LGBTQ+ film festival. Look out for future screenings by Googling the film title or following their twitter feed.