User reviews

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.

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.

6/10 - I really wanted to like this movie, but as a lot of the Netflix ones do, this one fell flat

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.

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.

This is an accurate depiction of coming out. Other reviewers seem offended by the focus on his relationship with a girl, but I don't understand that. It's very realistic and an aspect of the coming-out experience. I think this movie did a very good job of highlighting the roles of those people and other friends in the lives of lgbt.

I also really appreciated the later-in-life realization of his sexuality. Yes, some people 'always know,' but some people don't, and others are in huge denial and that can really suck. These people need representation, too, and this is a great movie to do it with.

Even the poor reviews give the acting good marks. I think I can speak from experience that the story is very authentic. No aspect of it rings untrue, and it manages to be genuinely hilarious at just the right times. 8/10

The film was cute and it was very genuine in how it portrayed teenage confusion over sexuality, but the biggest surprise was Madeline Weinstein. Usually the role of the girlfriend in this kind of story would be a secondary one, a small role without much depth, but I really appreciated that the main love story of this film turned out to be that of the lead guy and his best friend. Weinstein was perfect here. There were so many shades to her character and I felt like she was the most heartbreaking during the emotional parts of the film. She was in last year's Beach Rats and now she's proven she has endless amounts of charisma. I hope we see her in more things.

A really good movie. Accurately depicts being gay at high school in 2018. Resolves at the end. good camera work. The dynamics aren't forced. The character makes mistakes but Isn't unlikable. shows both sides of the story.

This teen film is unlike others in so many ways. No over the top gay characters, just some sweet little moments. No mean girls/guys. No "hot" blond girlfriend. But instead quirky and cute interests that were really woven into the film, not just in a moment where it seemed like you'd need the information, like many others.. Alex is a different main character in many ways. He is adorably geeky and nerdy, he's super emotional and doesn't care for it! And he doesn't just follow the crowd. He is just genuine and sweet. Something else I liked for a change was the fact that the cast wasn't made up from just the best looking people. The main characters aren't ugly, don't get me wrong, but they also aren't the best looking people in my opinion. They were really cast for their skills and not their looks, which made the film a lot more believable! The plot does remain predictable and very American but still a highly enjoyable film!

Hormones are running wild at Buchanan High. Animal obsessed student body president Alex Truelove is an awkward teen looking for true love. He falls hard for Claire and they become video partner best friends. Eventually, they get into a relationship. Claire lets slip that Alex has been preventing her from devirginizing him. They decide on a hotel rendezvous to do it for the first time. Then he meets openly gay Elliott.

The crass friend Dell does something crass to prove a point. My move would be less crass but still somewhat crass. Dell is more than a simplistic idiot sidekick. This is a good sexual confusion movie. I do have a presumed idea of where this movie is going but this takes a different road. I expected the hotel to be the climax. It might be better to structure that way. It may not be as sweet but it would be more dramatic. After the big emotional explosion, it can't really get that big again. Emotional tension kinda drift slowly down. Even his big reveal can't break that level again. Honestly, she has a bigger emotional arc than he does. Maybe, the coming out story is thankfully no longer shocking and this should be her story instead. Of course, there is a comparison to the other recent teen coming out movie, Love, Simon. I think they are both very compelling and slightly flawed in different ways. They could be a solid double bill.

It is inevitable that this film will be compared to Love, Simon. Both are teen romance comedies, with a bit of a John Hughes in the background (in this case explicitly so). Both are centered on a coming out narrative and both involve a white gay teen in suburbia. While Simon is the superior work, Strangelove has enough distinctions to be worthwhile. Alex's coming out is much more recognizing his identity (Simon struggles with how, Alex struggles with what) and the film is much more willing to push the envelope. There is a frankness to the depiction of sexuality that is missing in Simon and the film speaks to how complicated coming out can be. I appreciate that Elliot had a bad coming out (abet it is not shown) as Simon is a little too saccharine on that point.

But apart from that, Strangelove is a bit of mess. Much of the humor feels alien to the plot and character. While the humor is funny it is shallow and goofball. It creates a lot of tonal clashes that undermine the film. I.e. the frog gag is juxtaposed with the lovers meeting and it really does not work. The subplot do not really try into the main plot all that well. But the main issue is Alex and Elliot do not get enough scenes together and the lover story between feels more like the idea of love, not love itself.

That is a real shame because the two actors are wonderful and they have sizzling chemistry. Doheny is a great choice for this role and he makes Alex as real as Simon was. Marziale is not in the film a lot but he is strong enough that Elliot feels as realized as Alex.

Overall, this is a good but not great film that GB men can relate too. It is not a universal representation of the queer experience.

I just wanted to watch another stupid movie to keep myself distracted. I had no idea that this movie would touch me so deeply. It was funny and sad. The name of the movie is stupid which lead to me thinking it would be another useless Netflix movie. But my assumption turned out to be wrong. I'm definitely gonna watch it again. In my opinion it was better than Love, Simon.

I say that because it's unavoidable: this is white bread bland. But it's done fairly well for what it is.

It's honest and upfront about what we should expect: the main character talks to us, comments on his life, where it's going etc.

People are right to say this is like modern John Hughes movie. Which, I hasten to add, were pretty much considered s**t when they came out except for their target audience: pre-teens and young teens. This film is for that same demographic.

So I get why some people are really unhappy with it. No, of course it's not realistic. It's entertainment. And some of the entertainment is good, if stereotypical.

If you been observing gay cinema as it evolved post-Stonewall--as I have and yes, I'm that old-you're more likely to give this a pass because IT IS equivalent to a John Hughes movie. Which, I will say again, adults considered s**t at the time. I think these serve the same purpose for the gay community as Hughes' movies did for straight kids in the '80s. Why shouldn't our kids get white bread formulaic rom coms too?

We should. This is one, and for what it is, it's fine.

This movie really tries to be progressive. But adding a gay lead-character doesn't change the fact, that the writing is lazy and the acting is unconvincing.. Most of the characters are just teen-movie cliches talking in phrases. At no point in the movie so I feel like investing any emotions in any of characters. Lest of all the main character, Alex, who is really not that likable. To quote the movie: " You have your head up your ass so much; it's depressing"..

Adding the gay layer to the story doesn't add much depth; it merely makes it seem like a 90's after-school special about 'It's okay to be gay'.. And the movie's view on queer people seems really stereotypical... It's like they are trying to be progressive, but really they are just reinforcing the gay stereotypes.

I admit, this movie won me over. The first 10 minutes feel a bit cheesy, but, the tone quickly evens out and it just gets better and better, all the way to the end. Amazing and realistic performances; Alex is incredibly charming and Dell is hilarious! The music is great, hope they release a soundtrack! My one criticism is that Alex and Elliott don't get to spend more time together. Sequel? Anyway, ignore the hater reviews and treat yourself to a fun movie!

I don't get the bad reviews saying this has "nothing new to add"! It's a feel good comedy flick aimed at young adults that embraces diversity: it's not meant to win a palm d'or. I thought it was good fun, easy watching and the snogging was a lot more convincing than #malec

If its a gay movie, why is it so homophobic? At one point when the main character is telling his friend he might be bisexual, his friend starts making really homophobic comments and the movie never acknowledges it. at the end, the friend just accepts it, he is not shown that what he said was wrong or anything. they also show really awkward "sex scenes" (if you can even call it that). just overall terrible and i do not recommend.

Alex Strangelove, follows high school student Alex who has the perfect relationship with his long time girlfriend and is peer pressured to finally do the knitty-gritty with her, until he meets Elliott a guy he is sure is interested in him and suddenly he is confused on what he wants and who he is. The film is charming and let's just say a little more inappropriate than how I thought it would be. The film does focus on Alex and his struggle to figure out his sexuality and identity. Though, I don't think the film really touched on it quite as good as I thought they would. The movie did kind of drag and Elliot was hardly in the film, though the ending really made up for what felt like a long film. Really the ending was good and gave me that YASS moment. The acting was quite good and had the right amount of charm to please a crowd.

Alex: "I'm sorry I was such a sh***y boyfriend." Claire: "No. No, you're the best gay boyfriend a girl could have." *they both laugh* Alex: "That's funny."-Alex and Claire, Alex Strangelove