Popular culture has never treated coming out stories with a light touch. Albeit, this might be because, historically, coming out has typically been loaded with feelings of shame, alienation, and fear. But things are different now. Over half of Gen-Z teens do not identify as straight. This newfound social acceptance opens the door for more casual, lighthearted coming-out stories. Not every journey has to be as somber as Ricky of My So-Called Life getting kicked out of his house for being gay. Sometimes, coming out can just be a hilariously awkward affair. Enter: the Ben Stiller-produced Netflix film Alex Strangelove
The chief focus of the adorable, pouty main character Alex Truelove doesn’t seem to be accepting his queerness, but figuring out if he even is queer. This approach provides a crucial representation of sexual fluidity and experimentation that’s all too often glossed over in pop culture (bisexual and pansexual visibility is woefully low).
“It’s like Mad Max out here,” Alex’s friend says in one scene, “guys doing guys, girls doing girls, girls turning into guys, guys are doing girls that used to do girls and guys.” The mishmash of out and proud sexualities among today’s youth sounds like a dream for millennials who spent their high school years just wishing someone else at their school was gay. But for someone as indecisive and confused as Alex, it makes choosing a romantic path to walk down all the harder.
This is what makes us believe Alex Strangelove will be a seminal addition to the queer film canon. The rom-com is more about figuring out where exactly you fall on the LGBTQ spectrum, and less about getting others to accept your identity.
Alex Strangelove comes from the director and co-writer of the oft-kilter dramedy Skeleton Twins and will arrive on Netflix June 8. Watch the trailer below: