John Early Shines As a Bitter Brooklyn Gay Trying His Best in Sundance’s ‘Stress Positions’

John Early stars in his first major leading film role in Stress Positions—a new comedy that premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival this week—and he more than lives up to the film’s cheeky title. As protagonist Terry Goon, he is in a constant state of physical and mental distress. Whether he’s stubbing his toe in his run-down Brooklyn brownstone or yanking a Theragun out of his ex’s asshole, this dude is not having a good time.

“He’s trying his best,” said debut feature director and writer Theda Hammel, in her virtual introduction to the film’s online press screening. “Unfortunately, his best is not enough.”

Early’s best, however, very much is enough. He delivers a hilarious, chaotic performance that proves he’s ready for more leading roles. His character, Terry, is a gay man stuck quarantining in one of his ex-husband’s properties. Terry’s friends dubbed it the “party house,” because it’s designated shit hole good only for partying. It’s the early months of the 2020 pandemic, and Terry’s been tasked with caring for his nephew Bahlul (Qaher Harhash), a 19-year-old model from Morocco who recently broke his leg. Hammel explains this complicated situation via a dreamy voiceover (a recurring motif that gives the otherwise wacky film an ethereal, noir vibe). Unfortunately for Terry, he’s very scared of the virus.

Anyone who was in NYC during the spring and summer of 2020 will instantly be transported back in time to that bizarre, frightening, and isolating headspace. Hammel and Early find brilliant little moments of pandemic comedy, like Early leaning out the window to bang on a pot with one hand while arguing with his ex on the phone in his other, or Early dousing a twenty dollar bill with aerosol sanitizer before handing it to the delivery guy. Hammel employs an unrelenting barrage of noises—clangs, bangs, buzzes, alarms—to build the tension of Terry’s living situation.

Early adds to the audio chaos with grunts, groans, gasps, and sighs. It seems Terry is always bumping into something in the apartment, whether it’s the projector screen that doubles as a door to his nephew’s bedroom or the sharp corner of his kitchen counter. It’s an incredibly physical role. At times, the movie drifts into slapstick comedy territory—like when Terry’s nephew sprays his uncle with a garden hose, and he slips on a piece of raw chicken on his kitchen floor. Early doesn’t quite windmill his arms while running in place. But it’s certainly cartoonish when he crashes to the floor, throws out his back, and hobbles around for the rest of the film’s runtime. And Hammel’s not above a visual gag or two: She introduces us to her lead character while he’s rolling a comically large disco ball down his stoop, muttering under his breath about his ex, the “fucking faggot.”

Terry, as his last name suggests, is a goon. But Early gets to flex his dramatic acting talent when Hammel reveals there’s a darkness to Terry’s uptight, pitiful exterior. The film’s best scene features Terry, his nephew, and Terry’s friend Karla (played by Hammel herself), getting drunk together, ostensibly to celebrate Bahlul’s 20th birthday. Terry, it turns out, is a mean drunk. He doesn’t like it when Karla strikes up a conversation with his nephew about gender and sexuality, and crassly reveals his islamophobic and transphobic views in one fell swoop. Early doesn’t lean on trope-y crutches of drunk acting like stumbling on his words. Instead, he simply lets all of Terry’s restraints fall away. Terry unrestrained is not a nice guy: He shouts at his friend, calls her a cunt (not in a playful way!), and mocks her transition. He incorrectly names various Middle Eastern countries, cities, and cultural traditions in an attempt to make a point about homophobia. He is, at his core, an angry, bitter man. But thanks to Early’s natural, authentic portrayal, you don’t hate him. You just feel sad for him.

Early’s been around the comedy scene for a minute, both as a stand-up and as an actor in comedy series like Search Party and The Afterparty. Though he’s had a few supporting roles in films like The Disaster Artist and Late Night, Stress Positions marks his first time as a feature lead. Between the genuine laughs and thoughtful reflection his performance elicited, hopefully this is the beginning of many more lead roles for Early. It’s worth noting that Hammel, in addition to making a stellar debut as a feature writer and director, also shines on screen. Her casual response to an unspoken question about her transition—”I wanted to kill myself, and this sort of helped,”—gutted me. I for one, certainly hope to see more of both Early and Hammel’s hectic, messy take on queer culture on screen again.

Stress Positions has been acquired by Neon for distribution, and is expected in theaters later this year.