The arc of the adult characters seems to be to loosen them up and get them drinking, while Henry's mother comes to a decision about the state of her marriage. This, unfortunately, doesn't aide Cone's film in that there are no stakes at all in this film. They'll perhaps whisper behind people's backs, but they keep the drama to an extreme low. The characters here are all good Christian folks who seem to avoid conflict. In fact, it would seem as if they aren't really confrontations at all. People are homophobic in that they disagree with gay people but when confronted with a gay person, they aren't mean or upset. He keeps it to himself and maintains his heterosexual smoke-screen, mainly due to the religiosity of the environment around him. He doesn't dare act, let alone speak, on this homosexual desire.
Whether it's his face laying against a pillow or whether it's Gabe's body half-submerged in the pool, Henry gazes with all bubbling desire. Henry certainly sets his sights on Gabe and takes every opportunity to stare at him. It also starts what is the recurring motif of Henry's prurient gaze. The two even end up engaging in mutual masturbation.
Henry and his best friend Gabe, played by Joe Keery, lie naked in bed together discussing penis size and giving graphic details about sex with a girl. The opening scene makes that fact very clear. Instead of all adults, this film mainly concerns itself with the lustful desires of horny teenagers. If anything, this film is more an approximation of Henry Jaglom's Eating (1990) or even the recent Turtle Hill, Brooklyn (2013). This film doesn't have the same, witty and acerbic dialogue as that 1970 film. One of the best examples of a movie about a birthday party with gay characters is The Boys in the Band (1970), but this film doesn't have that kind of militancy and aggressiveness. Those two films didn't have gay characters any way. It's not as comedic or John Hughes-like as Can't Hardly Wait (1998). This film isn't as outrageous or as raunchy as Project X (2012). They've been about birthday celebrations that have taken place all in one location and all in one day or night. There have been several films like this one. About a dozen or so of Henry's friends show up, as well as friends of his parents who have a bit of a barbecue, listen to some music and swim. It's being held in their upscale backyard where there's a sizable pool. His mom, dad and sister are celebrating by having a party. He's the son of a pastor in fact and similarly many of the same subjects and themes are explored here as in The Wise Kids.Ĭole Doman stars as Henry Gamble. Similarly, it's the birthday of a gay teen named Henry Gamble who is closeted. This movie takes that one birthday scene in The Wise Kids and expands or stretches it out to a feature-length story. Within that film, one of the characters was a gay teen named Tim who celebrated his birthday at home with family and friends. It's also about what life is like in their quiet, suburban, Christian community. Writer-director Stephen Cone made the film The Wise Kids (2012), which was about a group of teenagers in a church group putting on a play about Jesus Christ.