‘Alex Strangelove’
Leave it to Craig Johnson, writer/director of The Skeleton Twins to inject some life into the teenage rom-com with this story of high-school sweethearts who hit a roadblock when the boy figures out he likes boys. Alex Strangelove is the kind of movie we should get more of: the no-frills, zippily written romantic comedy about young people of varied sexual orientations. Alex’s dream relationship with Claire gets put in jeopardy when he meets the flirty, gay Elliott and starts to catch some feelings.
The movie isn’t going to rewrite the rules of romantic comedies for queer people. It’s not even going to fill in the gaps that Love, Simon left unfilled. For a second there, it seems like Alex is going to say something cool and modern about pansexuality or bisexuality, but that quickly gets papered over, which is too bad. But Alex Strangelove still feels more ragged and personal than its mainstream counterparts. There is a nervously beating heart in here than can’t help but be very endearing.