Alex Strangelove is a 2018 Coming of Age film witten and directed by Craig Johnson.
The movie focus on Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny), a neurotic but affable teenager who falls in love with a girl named Claire (Madeline Weinstein). After months together, the two make a promise to lose their virginity together before graduation, but things get more and more confused to Alex when he meets Elliot (Antonio Marziale), an openly gay teen that charms him.
The film was released on Netflix in June 8th, 2018.
Tropes
- Amicable Exes: Alex and Claire are still friends despite the breakup. It is shown through them going to prom together, Claire inviting Elliot to the prom so that Alex can open up to him, and Alex filming his coming out video with Claire without any hint of animosity.
- Author Avatar: Alex is meant to be a representation of Craig Johnson's own teen years, when he also faced issues coming to terms with his sexuality.
- Camp Gay: A lot of the theater kids that Alex meets early in the movie.
- Chekhov's Gun: The missing Guyana Banana Leaf Toad later becomes a catalyst for Alex to come to terms with his sexuality and confront Claire about it.
- Coming-Out Story: Ultimately, the entire movie is played as this to Alex, as he comes to terms with his sexuality. The movie ends with a collection of online videos of Alex and other people' coming out story.
- Flashback: Alex has one about him getting bullied by other boys for having an erection in a swimming pool's shower room when he was a kid.
- Gayngst: Alex coming to terms with his sexuality is not pretty, and he begins to feel overwhelmed from all directions. The fact that he was bullied once for having an erection around other boys in the shower makes it even harder for him to come out.
- Hidden Depths: Dell is much more observant than what he lets on, and calls both Alex and Erica out on their crappy behavior later in the movie.
- Incompatible Orientation: The reason why Alex and Claire's relationship doesn't last; Claire is straight but Alex is a closeted gay.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Early in the movie, Alex and Claire's attempt at sex in a bathtub during a party is halted when Dell comes in and drenches them in puke.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dell seems very obnoxious and dismissive of Alex's issues, but he later proves to care about him enough to take him to a party to help him get over his breakup with Claire and has genuine feelings for Sophie, calling her out for using him to find Alex.
- Love Triangle: Claire and Alex are in a relationship, but Alex has a mancrush on the gay Elliot who is shown to be attracted to him. After acknowledging himself as gay, Alex breaks up with Claire and ends up with Elliot.
- Never My Fault: Alex has a certain tendency to deflect guilt when he feels overwhelmed. The prime example being saying that his and Elliot's kiss was the latter's fault, despite being the one who started it.
- No Bisexuals: Averted. Alex wonders about the possibility of being bisexual for a brief period. Another character introduced is explicitly bisexual.
- Queer Romance: Ultimately, the show ends up as Elliot and Alex's love story, though it's much more a story about the latter coming out than about him getting a boyfriend.
- Straight Gay: Elliot and later Alex don't show many typical Camp Gay traits.
- Shout-Out: The song played in Elliot's car when he and Alex are in the car after meeting him in a store is "Dance This Mess Around" by The B-52s, a 70s band with LGBT members and fanbase.
- Elliot, unsurprisingly, has some LGBT-related items such as mirrored Moonlight (2016) poster and Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2014 revival poster in his room.
- Unreliable Narrator: Alex as the narrator doesn't tell the real reason why he can't have a girlfriend, claiming to be a romantic who hasn't met the right girl.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: A version of it happens when Dell vomits a copious amount of slimy gummy worms on Alex and Claire after eating too many.
