Big Boys Review: An uplifting portrait of young, fat queerness
An instant crowdpleaser, Big Boys is heartwarming and sweetly comedic.
In the LGBTQ community, body positivity seems to be a fickle thing. Body image and fatness stigma pervades queer spaces and when in search of belonging, feeling like an outsider in your own community is a complex experience. An early notion of that dichotomy is at the core of Corey Sherman’s heartwarming, queer coming-of-ager Big Boys.
Unlike the Channel 4 show of the same name, Sherman’s film narrows its scope to an isolated weekend to examine a gay awakening.
The focus is on 14-year-old Jamie (Isaac Krasner) who’s excitedly preparing for a camping weekend. Coming along is his hormonal older brother Will (Taj Cross) and adult cousin Allie (Dora Madison). However, Allie’s soft-spoken boyfriend, Dan (David Johnson III) scuppers Jamie’s organised plans. His broad shoulders and irresistible smile instantly catch Jamie’s gaze. Quickly, the pair quickly bond over campfire cooking, a love of Alicia Keys, and being self-declared “big boys.”
“The director’s gentle handling of fatness marks a refreshing portrait of young queerness.”
Though Jamie wants to be around Dan constantly, he isn’t quite ready to contemplate what that actually means… at least consciously. His imagination runs wild in the dead of night with fantasies about an adult Jamie acting on his feelings and falling into a loving romance with Dan. Like a twig snap cutting through the silence, Jamie plummets back to earth with his brother’s insistence on getting him to lose his virginity. With trembling fingers and a worried bottom lip, Jamie’s hesitancy leads to stacking lies, only pushing him further back into the closet.
Big Boys captures that effervescent buoyancy of a burgeoning crush. The anxious infatuation is revealed not only by Sherman’s direction but by Krasner’s effortlessly charming performance. Playing a 14-year-old with both believability and compassion, the young actor captures the nuance of living in a fat body with searing realism. Wading into the lake with his t-shirt staying on before later pulling the fabric away from his body, such subtlety bolsters Big Boys’ resonance.
“The director’s gentle handling of fatness marks a refreshing portrait of young queerness”
In moments where another actor could lean too far into comedic caricature or sympathetic requests, Krasner sees the line and finds impressive grounding in nervous quirks and small smiles. Sherman makes an example not to emphasise such quiet actions but present them as routine. Neither patronising nor forced, the director’s gentle handling of fatness marks a refreshing portrait of young queerness.
As well as this touching portrayal, moments of jubilant comedy arrive with an optimistic throughline. From Jamie packing an array of spices for the BBQ to journaling the reasons he cannot be gay (he has no interest in fashion, so it’s not possible), Sherman pens a thoroughly enjoyable and touching coming-of-age story. Big Boys chronicles sunny moments you know will be amongst the core memories of Jamie’s adolescence.
4/5
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