Dating Amber

Well shot and well acted, particularly by Petticrew and O 'Shea in the leads, this sweet and often funny Irish film tells a familiar story in a refreshing way. Though I don't recall the year ever being mentioned in the film, setting the story in the mid 90s has the advantage of avoiding the often obnoxious trap of present day set teen stories that fixate on smart phones and social media. Without that, Dating Amber is able to depict a friendship based on human contact, conversation and shared experiences.

An underdeveloped B story regarding Eddie's parents being on the cusp of divorce that has no real impact on the A story is a minor issue, overshadowed by the sheer charm of it all and the authenticity of the two leads.

Really loved this gentle film and a twist on a trope that is normally dominated by heterosexual narratives. Both the young actors are great with an excellent supporting cast. There's a beautiful use of a U2 song that I found surprising and definitely sprung on the tears. Would recommend.

This lovely film captures just how closeted gay teenagers feel in a small town. It's bitter sweet but also beautiful. I love it.

It is about high school kids dealing with the difficulties of growing up, particularly sexuality and including being bullied at school. The novelty of this story is that a lesbian girl and a reluctant gay boy decide to hush their heckler friends by starting a relationship. They visit each others families, they show PDA at school, but deep down have an agreement that it is just for show and after graduation each will go their own way.

The story is for the most part handled very well. As has become the custom for scripts with high school characters there is a bit over-emphasis on sex and sex-related discussions. I doubt this is representative of the average Irish high school. Still much of it is done to inject humor into a story which otherwise has very serious implications.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library, we were entertained. The Irish humor is quite different from American humor.

In a semi-autobiographical film set in 1995 Ireland, 2 high school seniors date each other (and exhibit public displays of affection) to ward off suspicions of being gay. Amber is confident, and plans to use her entrepreneurial savings to go to London and join the punk scene. Eddie is resisting identifying as gay, and has internalized his army-commander father's desire for him to follow his footsteps. While only pretending, the two actually develop a form of affection for each other. However, trips to nearby Dublin, where they find a gay scene and Amber a girlfriend, cause trouble for the duo.

Beyond the action at school, there are the dynamics of both families. By seeing this film at a digital film festival, I was able to re-watch parts to figure out certain scenes, or catch scenes that went over my head on the 1st viewing. But there are inconsistencies of note: Even if Eddie can do only one pull-up, he rides his bike everywhere, so he can't be as unfit as he is made out to be. While Amber tells Eddie of his gay mannerisms, he is nowhere near obvious in doing so. Meanwhile, at different times, Amber is either straight-curious or dick-averse. Offsetting this are other touching snippets, and amusing revelations at the family dinner table by Eddie's younger brother, about Eddie's rumored sexual activities from school gossip.

There are echoes of other teen movies, like Risky Business, Moonlight, and American Graffiti. This is a reasonable combination story of both coming out and coming of age.