Our take
When a shy student somehow attracts the attention of the most popular guy at school, it’s pretty much the stuff of plenty of straight teenage romcoms. Get Real is this, but gay, but there’s a tenderness to the way these teenage archetypes are portrayed, and simply placing Steven and John’s closeted relationship side-by-side with the usual straight sexual shenanigans of the classic teen genre immediately challenges the double standard. It’s a simple and straightforward approach (heh), but at the same time, it’s ahead of its time, yet oh-so-very 90s. It’s surprising that Get Real hasn’t garnered the cult status it deserves.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Sundance
1 nom
The story
Sensitive rural town model student Steven Carter hides his gay feelings, except with his neighbor and best friend Linda. Suddenly his desperate search for partners leads to a blind date with golden boy John Dixon, bound for an Oxbridge career.
Elsewhere
"Fresh, funny and thoroughly engaging."
— Derek Elley
While still in the closet, high school student Steven Carter falls for all-star straight athlete John Dixon. However, after a curious run-in with John in a public restroom, Steven starts to wonder if the guy is straight after all.
To be honest, I was distracted by the way Ben Silverstone kinda looked like Timothee Chalamet with a bad haircut, but without looking like a sickly Victorian child.
Linda is the best friend we need!
The details
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
