An honorable, emotionally attuned drama about a boy who refuses to allow others to determine his sexuality for him. After an evening spent celebrating his 17th birthday, Franky (Josh Wiggins) awakens in the arms of his lifelong friend Ballas (Darren Mann). It’s Ballas who starts the gossip mill churning by outing the encounter to his girlfriend (and thus the entire student body) and assigning blame to Franky. This isn’t your standard coming-of-age melodrama; for a change, the two protagonists are from the popular set, not misfits or nerds. Nor is it a commercial-interrupted Hallmark Movie with an agenda to push. There’s too much sound judgement in writer-director Keith Behrman’s handling of his superb cast for that. The film’s only sour note sounds in the form of unwelcome comic relief. A bad case of penis envy finds Franky’s pal Mouse (Niamh Wilson) proudly packing a strap-on in her shorts. Moments like this are why God created the deleted scenes section of the blu-ray. With Maria Bello and Kyle MacLachlan as the adults. (2018) — Scott Marks
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