Straight Up

Straight Up (2019) was written and directed by James Sweeney.

Director Sweeney plays Todd, who has OCD and many, many phobias. Todd's friends know he's gay, Todd's therapist knows he's gay, and--I think--Todd knows he's gay. The problem is that Todd really doesn't want to be gay.

He wants to be straight, especially after he meets Rory, portrayed by Katie Findlay. They are mutually attracted, and the start to live together. But . . .

Although this was a meant as a comedy, I found it poignant. Meeting the right person, when you're the wrong person, isn't really funny. Funny things happen along the way, but the basic premise is sad.

Sweeney does a good job, especially when you remember that he's directing himself. Katie Findlay is outstanding in her role.

Special acting credit goes to Tracie Thoms as Dr. Larson, Todd's ever-patient therapist.

This film had its New York State premiere at ImageOut, Rochester's great LGBT festival. (Remember that both NYC and Buffalo are larger than Rochester. Having a NYS premiere in Rochester takes special effort by the ImageOut selection committee.)

This is a film that will work on the small screen. Yes--it's set in California with views of the ocean, but it's about people, not scenery.

This movie hasn't had a large distribution. It's only been rated by 30 people. The good news is that those people gave it an extremely high rating of 8.1. I think it's even better than that.

Theres not really a running story but they just talk and talk and talk the whole time and the talking topics are highly interesting and intellectual. If you dont have a problem with that then you will love it.

The main character is struggling with whether they're gay or not because they don't like gay sex. In fact they don't like sex at all. This is literally the definition of what being asexual is. This movie was written by people who have no idea there are sexualities beyond bi, gay or straight. It was frustrating to see potential representation of asexuality get shoved into the shadows.

It's interesting to say the least, yet there's no real label to put on this film. It's not bad, it has a decent idea, fine execution, and it's quirky esque style suits the film perfectly. But sometimes a film just has that 'something feels slightly off' vibe that you can't put a finger on? Yea this film has that too.

I just want to be friends with Todd and Rory. They are wacky and adorable and even borderline annoying and I love them both. This movie is the type of love story I can totally get attached to. And it's so funny that I need to watch it again, because there were times the audience was laughing so hard that I couldn't hear all the words. Just watch this movie any chance you get.