Better Nate Than Ever

There is no doubt that Rueby Wood is a talented kid. His enthusiasm as Nate is infectious and you have to cheer him on. Nate's parents aren't bad parents, just a little unaware. Nate's brother, a high-school jock, is embarrassed by his somewhat effete younger brother. And Nate's friend Libby, his enabler, is a little slow in understanding Nate's concept of girlfriend. But Lisa Kudrow, is wonderful as his would be mother and slightly kooky Aunt Heidi. This is a well-intentioned film with a strong message of letting people be who they are. With heart and some terrific song and dance numbers, this is an entertaining film.

Better Nate Than Ever (2022) is based off of the book Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle, which I have not read but after watching the movie I am interested in reading the book.

I liked Rueby Woods performance as Nate, he brought the enthusiastic and dedicated personality of someone who wants to get in a lead role in a musical. He also sang the songs well and the songs in the movie are nice to listen to.

The choreography and dance numbers are nice to look at, and I like that Nate goes all the way to New York for his audition. There is a fun song sequence with Nate in New York that I did enjoy and liked watching.

This is a simple, fun, and enjoyable movie that you can watch with your family or if you have kids then they will like it. Give this a watch if you have the time because I enjoyed the time, I spent with this.

Congratulations Disney on your first movie with a gay lead without even mentioning words like "gay". But I guess baby steps are also steps. Nevertheless, it was a fun no-brainer movie worth watching!

Queerbaiting at its finest.... I get that you can't really show all thats in the book but wtf! If you're gonna make a movie based on a book that explores themes about sexuality, breaking norms, and discovering yourself inspite of what the world around you says, than do that!! Don't just hint to Nate's queerness, or don't just show his only interaction to a lgbtq couple (and that too is just alluded to) is to ask for directions! The movie on its own is great, the fact that disney kept dropping hints of the character possibily being gay but not just outright saying it, says alot about them. They still need to make this movie profitable, so they'll hint to it, but never outright admit it.

The film itself was solid, based on the book by Tim Federle with some changes. I really liked how the overall message of the film seemed to be around family and how the musical Nate auditions for is Lilo and Stitch which has the overall message of family. The acting by the cast is good and shows character development.

Overall, 7/10.