Appropriate for Pride Month, Netflix released a new teen comedy, "Alex Strangelove," on June 8. While heartfelt in a few spots, the film is ultimately contradictory and not reflective of the world in 2018.
Rated TV-MA, the premise of the film is all about sex. Alex Truelove, president of his class, struggles to lose his virginity to his girlfriend, Claire, who has been trying to "de-virginize" him for eight months (her words).
Students in the high school hierarchy are compared to animals in the jungle and Alex confesses that he isn't like most "when it comes to mating."
There's a long-running joke about his obsession with wildlife to show that he's nerdy and the intro evokes other outsider teen stories, directly referencing "Carrie" and mimicking "Glee" and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" in spirit.
As far as weirdness goes, a party early on in the movie covers many "quirky" bits - Alex's group of friends brings in a frog that was bought online and lick it to get high, which later leads to them projectile-vomiting gummy worms.
While Alex attempts to overcome his nervousness with his girlfriend, he meets a gay guy at said party, Elliott, who piques Alex's interest and makes him question his situation.
The movie is pro-LGBT, but heavily relies on discriminatory tropes to the point that it becomes contradictory.
A narrative is nothing without conflict, but "Strangelove" is so focused on the most basic gay white man that everyone else is thrown to the side.
Characters in the movie are split between being gay enough for straight people, or too queer to tolerate. Sidney, a student who says they feel attraction based on the person, is frequently shown as the only example of a queer student at their school, and is made into a joke whenever on screen.
It isn't coincidental that Sidney is visibly out, whereas Elliott is assumed to be straight until it is said otherwise.
Queer people can fall into any possible look, but seeing Sidney's character effectively being "punished" for looking stereotypically gay was distressing.
The main source of homophobia in the movie comes from Alex's friend Dell, who is the most archetypal crude guy you can find in teen comedies.
Dell laments why anyone can't be "just straight" anymore and in the same scene attempts to flash Alex to convince him into being straight.
Later, when Dell professes that he will accept Alex as any identity, he goes on to compare various sexual orientations to NAMBLA, an organization that promotes pedophilia. Comparing the LGBTQ community to pedophiles is a common homophobic attack that is still being combated today. Seeing it placed in the same category as a marginalized identity left an awful taste in my mouth as the movie brushed over the reference.
Common harmful gay tropes are also used in the film, which have been used in other works but are highly outdated and stereotypical. Alex accuses Elliott of being a "predatory gay" and taking advantage of him when confused about his feelings and Claire asks Alex towards the end of the movie if this could be a "phase" for him. "Strangelove" is far from the first to use these, but it's lazy writing to rely on them in 2018.
The film also confuses polyamory with poly/pansexuality when Elliott's friend jokes that he isn't attracted to her. This was a small bit that made me do a double take, but solidified for me how single-mindedly the movie was written.
With the focus on men, the film also reveals its sexism and ingrained toxic masculinity in multiple instances.
In regards to women, men should "go forth and conquer" (Elliott) and prior to a party, the guys decide that what Alex needs are "booze and slutty girls" (Dell). The female characters lack dimension outside of their relationship to men and what they can do for them.
This is most obvious towards the end of the film, when Dell laments to a girl, Sophie, that he has always been interested in her and she is "evil" to him in return.
When Sophie ends up with Dell in the end, it feels like a wet dream for any guy who thinks he's been "wronged" if a woman is not interested in him.
Women are not obligated to do anything for men, but the closest the film comes to recognizing this is showing how harmful it was for Alex to not be upfront with Claire about his mixed feelings. Even then, her feelings are resolved and brushed under the rug in order to further move along his narrative.
The movie is best when it's self-aware: criticizing cheerleaders not based on misogyny, but because their skills could be better. Pointing out the way we exploit people with disabilities for pity stories. At its worst, the movie is awkward: using phrases like "sexy time" and "bumping uglies" and making a cheap joke about special education. It bounces back and forth, but is more often than not in bad taste.
The best scene in the movie is brief and takes place when Alex and Elliott are at a concert together in Brooklyn. It's their first time hanging out alone: as the lights shine on the characters, others in the crowd kiss and queer electro-pop group MUNA calls, "I know a place we can run / Where everyone gonna lay down their weapon / Lay down their weapon / Don't you be afraid of love and affection," this is when the movie feels genuine. It feels like real pride and I wish that feeling lasted throughout the rest of the movie.
The end of the film, which begins with Alex's coming out on his online show and adds more and more coming out videos to the screen (most notably Ingrid Nielsen), feels undermined by what came before it.
One-liners like "Maybe I should just become a lesbian" enforce the idea that sexual orientation is a choice, while others like "My cousin just came out and she's 12" ignore how everyone has their own coming out experience and self-realization. Both quotes come from Claire, who tries her best in the movie, but is never given enough substance to be a genuine character.
"Alex Strangelove" is a gay movie in the minimum, but it does more harm than good. I was genuinely surprised to see that the writer and director, Craig Johnson, is gay, because from what I took away from the movie, I could've sworn it was the making of straight people.
