November 11th, 2019

I am not someone who does a ton of research going into each movie often avoiding trailers or synopsis meaning I often don't know what I am walking into other than a very vague idea. With Straight Up I only knew this was a movie having something to do with the LGBTQ+ community, thats it. Walking into a film with no expectations can lead to some pretty interesting results and here I was shocked when the first 10 minutes of the movie played out and I learned what this movie was about. Todd (James Sweeney) is a gay man who has been struggling to find a partner and isn't the biggest fan of the sexual encounters he has had in the past so Todd decides he might be straight. He forms a relationship with a woman named Rory (Katie Findlay) and questions who he is. I understand to a point what this movie was trying to do, Todd is someone who is very flamboyant and falls into many gay cliches so people think he is gay, exploring how these sexual identity cliches can make someone confused is a decent idea for a film but this movie fails to explore it in any meaningful way. It has a plot that never works as it is so unclear for us how these characters are feeling at any particular moment.

We have no idea if Todd is gay or not, sure Todd doesn't either but giving no context on if he feels love or a connection with anyone he is meeting with makes it to where we can form no thesis on his experience. How the film tackles its themes and plot points also felt very frustrating for me as a gay man, for a film trying to combat cliches it is one filled with them projecting the LGBTQ+ community as nasty sluts who are out to ruin lives. It completely misses the mark when it comes to representation or commentary leaving me angry and disappointed at how it decides to tackles these ideas almost nearing problematic levels at some points.. The final message is also just baffling, it makes no sense and feels like a horrible end to a frustrating road I wish I just would have avoided.

The film falls completely flat having a bland relationship that never feels natural and comedic lines that try way too hard. It never finds its footing and overall was sadly one of the worst movies I have seen this year. The one frustratingly good thing about it is the cinematography, the shot composition and production design in this movie are both truly incredible making this movie easily one of my favorite looking films of the year which is all the more frustrating considering how shitty it is outside of that. This is a film that was a pain to get through and I would recommend avoiding at all costs, such a disappointment and mess of a film that really could have been something.

Overall Grade: D-