My Fake Boyfriend

MY FAKE BOYFRIEND could be considered a step forward in representation for the LGBTQ+ community, but not in the way one would like it to be. It moves the needle of gay acceptance forward but only insofar as it's equal in every way to similar B-movie heterosexual romantic comedies. It's illogical, stupid AF, and filled with cute nitwits making terrible decisions you and I would never make, all in pursuit of ever elusive love. The fact that it never once self-consciously strains to justify its own existence somehow feels like progress, so two snaps up to the filmmakers on that front.

Populated with characters straight from stock, this film never gets too deep into anything meaningful, relying heavily on stereotypes of gay and straight folks alike to drive the action, and in so doing, it mimics a thousand other heteronormative rom coms I've seen ... and enjoyed.

Because when you get right down to it, that's what rom coms are: far fetched potboilers with improbable premises designed to pull emotional strings in spite of their overarching silliness. Why should it be different when the primary focus is on gay men?

Keiynan Lonsdale is as always pleasant and relies on his 1,000-watt smile to connect with the audience. He delivers a creditable, sympathetic performance that's light fare to be sure, plenty entertaining, and most important, relatable to anyone familiar with modern dating wars.

Dylan Sprouse serves up a small dash of nerdy straight-guy realness as he battles deep-seated insecurities and feelings of inadequacy that are oddly endearing. Still, he stays blessedly close to the surface and keeps things light, which seems absolutely right for this vehicle.

Only one character in MY FAKE BOYFRIEND raises a red flag. Leo, the borderline psychopath, is over the top, could leave a counterproductive impression for those hostile to the film's intent, and doesn't serve a purpose outside of an attempt at comic relief that falls flat. This is not to say that "gay crazy" isn't a phenomenon. We all know it is. Leo's presence, however, doesn't add value and is an exaggeration that comes off as cringey rather than funny.

To be clear, MY FAKE BOYFRIEND is not a great romantic comedy that's destined to be a classic. It's a flawed, middle-of-the-road yet reasonably competent fantasy meant to be enjoyed by a limited audience and its allies, and in that respect, it somewhat succeeds. In years past, it might have been hailed as groundbreaking in its normalization of gay relationships and its portrayal of their wider societal acceptance, but since that work has already largely been done, it has to stand on its merits as a romance alone. In that regard, it's average.

One reviewer said this movie made him embarrassed to be gay. I don't dismiss that reaction. In fact, I even understand it to a point, but I don't agree, mainly because I don't hold MY FAKE BOYFRIEND to a standard I wouldn't apply to similar films aimed at heterosexual audiences.

MY FAKE BOYFRIEND delivers exactly what it promises: a screwball plot and cute guys screwing up their relationships while doing stupid cute-guy tricks, all tied up at the end with a predictably happy ending. Sometimes, that's all you need on a Saturday night.

I stumbled on this by accident and would have been tempted to skip with all the negative reviews. But I know Lonsdale from his small roles in Love Simon and Love Victor where he was good so gave it a shot. I think the negative reviews are nothing to do with honest reviews of a comedy film.

This was a genuinely silly and funny film. The characters were all so OTT and ridiculous. That was the point! It's not bad acting, it's brilliant acting.

I initially thought we might be heading for a bad Weird Science rip off when Sprouse announced he was going to create a boyfriend but the social media twist was clever and had some serious undertones if you want to look for any depth.

The biggest point that the haters seem to have missed is that this film was funny. I was laughing all the way through and when so many comedies fail on that simple point I give it the credit it is due.

I look forward to seeing Lonsdale front and centre in more movies. Keep it up young man and ignore the negativity. It's a thumbs up from me!

The plot in general is lousy, there is no common sense, it is all so unreal and dramatic in a simply absurd sense, the only good thing are the actors who participated, many have had an excellent career, and others who are not so well known did an excellent job but the film itself, and the organization everything was just horrible.

Because they all behave like they are. It feels like someone crossed the script of an ABC After School Special with a Disney Channel movie, changed the lead character to a gay man and slapped it up on the streamer just in time for Pride month.

This movie has an entertaining storyline with characters who are a lot of fun to watch. Where it falls short for me is the lack of depth. We know that the two best friends, Andrew and Jake, are insecure and lacking confidence, but we never really learn why that is. And at the end when everything comes to a head, there's not really any self-reflection. The consequences come as a result hurting the people they cared about, but not really for lying to a ton of people. So for me, it was just missing that extra layer to have me invested in the characters. I feel like I didn't know much about them other than what was happening in their lives in that moment. Overall, the movie was entertaining enough, but it made no sort of impact on any level, at all.