Big Boys

16-year-old Jamie loves cooking, is overweight rather than athletic, and physically self-conscious. He is going on a weekend camping trip with his older brother Will, and his favorite cousin Allie, but is bummed when he learns that Allie's new boyfriend Dan is coming along, cutting into his alone time with her.

However, Dan is kind to Jamie. They bond over cooking, and when they pair up in a word guessing game, with Dan names their team the "Big Boys". While Will is chasing after a girl from another campsite, and trying to get Jamie to lose his virginity with her sister, Jamie is not interested, and has fantasy dreams of being older and meeting Dan in the shower room.

Next day, the quartet goes on a hike in the woods While Allie and Will decide to take a shortcut back to camp, Jamie insists of following Dan on a longer route, where Jamie (a) gets a spontaneous erection, and (b) falls and scrapes his knee, upon which Dan uses his T-shirt as a bandage.

This is an interesting version of a coming-of-age story, of realizing to yourself who you are. The one problem in the story is that Jamie has been the laggard on the hike, and so it would not seem probable that Dan would take him on the longer route.

I was expecting a typical coming-of-age story that had the potential for me to connect and maybe bring up young memories.

Writer and director Corey Sherman seems to have looked into my head, taken stories from my youth, and put them on film.

The movie is easy to watch and heartfelt, and, at times, I felt very protective of Jamie, the lead character.

Every character has a purpose; every scene moves the story forward, and we are not given a sappy story to fill in the gaps.

It was a fresh take on the story of many gay men who were discovering their sexuality in their teens and felt out of place.

I felt at home with The Big Boys.

So glad I caught this film at the Bentonville Film Festival. I was blown away.

Director Corey Sherman does a brilliant job balancing the all too familiar warmth and laugh-out-loud comedy of growing up. Focusing on real teenage situations, he taps into magic early in the film, inviting the audience to fall in love with the characters through fun dialogue and relatable family moments. The attention to detail on screen and incredible acting performances contribute to the subtle uniqueness of the movie, which effortlessly navigates deeply personal subject matter with ease and humor.

Excited for more of our youth (and their parents!) to get a chance to watch this movie. Not only a fun watch, but a very important one.

This is a story about the painfully awkward teenage years where you had to face the thing called puberty. It didn't shield the audience from the most embarrassing and humiliating moments that can happen to all teenagers. Especially to those who are considered unusual, in either size or sexual orientation. What I like the most about this movie is that they gave the main character an elegant closure to his problem. Cause the story could've easily ended badly. I just hate messy endings and awkward dramas. It also have a great moral lesson for teenagers who are going through the same thing. Not to mention, it's also well acted and delivered decently.