Also rented the movie The Miseducation of Cameron Post. This flick is based on a popular (I guess) YA novel which I have not read, but probably should to get into the head of the main character.
This film, set in the 80s, is about a teen girl who goes to prom with her boyfriend and ends up making out with her best friend in a car in the parking lot. Her boyfriend stumbles onto them… and reports them to her parents. Turns out her best friend is a she (duh DUH DUUUUH!). Her parents then send her to gay conversion camp to get her religion on and pray the gay away.
As you can imagine for a Hollywood flick, the film isn’t particularly on the side of the camp counselors. But, surprisingly enough, it doesn’t overly dramatize their attempts to brainwash her into being heterosexual. I mean, you can tell the teens in the camp are not happy and the camp is not treated positively, but it’s not a Mommy Dearest level of campy overkill.
The main character barely has a personality… she mainly stays quiet and tries to answer questions the way the camp wants her to. You can tell she knows she’s threading a needle in order to get out… but we never really learn much about her or her real personality. She starts mopey and quiet and ends mopey and quiet. Between that and the movie not overdoing the conversion therapy, it’s kind of bland. But in a realistic way, I guess? That’s why I think the book must be a better version of the story… something that gets into her head and digs up an opinion or point of view.
This is a pretty decent film that neither excels nor crashes. It’s trying for a realistic look at something problematic but fails to really condemn or condone much of anything. It’s good if you are looking for a slice-of-life type flick or something that frowns on – but doesn’t exactly demonize – gay conversion therapy.
Score: 78