Alex Strangelove

I really loved this movie. It was so sweet! Just makes you feel happy. It's interesting to see the struggles that someone may face while being a young, gay, high schooler. I also loved the way they showed his "girlfriend"'s side.They showed how his decisions and his actions were effecting her, which is not usually a side that gets much attention in a "coming out" movie. It was a great light hearted movie that made me smile and also made me cry.

What we have here is a personal story that feels a bit too personal. By that I mean it feels like it was made for a very select audience, perhaps even an audience of one. It's okay for filmmakers to create stories that mean a lot to themselves, but ideally they will mean a lot to many others as well.

That's what made 'Ladybird' so wonderful. That's a personal story that feels personal to everyone. It's so full of empathy that all viewers can connect with it and be genuinely moved by it. 'Alex Strangelove' never reaches those heights.

Plot-wise, here's the rub: Alex Truelove is a high school senior with typical high school senior problems. He is stressed about getting into the right college. He's stressed about school. He's stressed about figuring out this sex thing.

His friends tell him sex is no big deal, but for some reason it hasn't happened for him. He loves his girlfriend, and she loves him too, but he has been putting off that part of their relationship. She doesn't know why and neither does he. Or maybe he does, but he isn't ready to admit it to himself yet.

One night at a party, Alex meets a cool guy. Everything becomes harder and harder to understand. It's unclear to viewers, as it is unclear to Alex. He's on a journey to self-discovery. He just hasn't reached his destination yet.

Daniel Doheny (the guy who plays Alex) is terrific. He successfully plays the part at various times as charming, funny, awkward, confused and downright mean. It's a challenging role to pull off, and he hits all the right notes.

The actors who play Alex's girlfriend Claire (Madeline Weinstein) and the cool guy Elliot (Antonio Marziale) are both fine. They aren't as nuanced and realized as Doheny's Alex, but they don't stand out in a negative way.

The film's resolution leaves a bit to be desired. Some loose ends remain untied. It probably would have been better to never introduce those storylines in the first place. The script would've been tighter, and nothing crucial would be lost.

Overall, this is a funny and fun movie that's part 'Superbad' (because of the parties and foul language) and part 'Love, Simon' (because of the sexual self-discovery). But it isn't as good as either.

Its got a nice premise and an honest attempt but its been done before. Everything about it was extremely predictable and the script was really boring. The direction itself was well done and it had a kind atmosphere but the whole thing was really unremarkable.

From the director of "The Skeleton Twins" comes one of the latest movies by Netflix and even before it came out has found its first major obstacle, the rather recent release of "Love, Simon" great teen movie on the LGBT theme, unfortunately the comparison it is almost spontaneous and "Alex Strangelove" does not stand that. Unfortunately, the film is not very involved in developing the LGBT theme that quickly falls into the background as well as all other more interesting or creative ideas (such as the extravagant editing and the curious direction appreciable in the first part but that are lost with advancing of time) that gave him a more bizarre personality. At the beginning also seems to be able to clear several aspects usually circumvented in films of this type but in the middle part loses some 'of his courage and gets lost in the easiest and fast route becoming a trivial teen movie without any particular peculiarity due of a limping and somewhat superficial script, especially when touching the key of homosexuality. In the last few minutes it resumed but now it is too late to make a great film and in conclusion it is remembered as a banal but light and carefree movie that would have served greater maturity and depth.

A fresh take on the tried and tested teen romance full of likeable and relatable characters. I had a lot of fun watching this, there was a high level of awkwardness which I'm sure was intentional and only added to the charm. Mr Truelove has a bright future ahead of him and I would love a sequel.