The Sapphic Cinephile

In the world of LGBTQ+ cinema, many of the films produced are tragic, melancholic, and heart-breaking. Think about it: Brokeback Mountain, Philadelphia, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are just a few examples. This shouldn’t be a shocker. After all, the queer experience is not all rainbows and glitter. Walking through the world as a queer person is not easy. LGBTQ+ individuals are often faced with hatred and violence. Evidently, this harsh reality bleeds into LGBTQ+ cinema.

Although I’m a sicko that enjoys movies that make me sob , every now and then it’s nice to watch a movie that makes my heart flutter. Crush is a film that gives us a break from all the queer tragedies. Crush follows Paige, a lesbian teenager naively navigating the dating world. This film is wholesome, sweet, and charming. Basically everything the films listed above are not. While Crush is not groundbreaking cinema, it is a breath of fresh air.

A big takeaway from this film is how inclusive the protagonists community is. Although Paige’s mother is quite cringey, she is very—if not too—supportive of her daughter. Furthermore, not once throughout the films hour and a half run time was a queer character bullied, shamed, or met with violence. I know when I was in high school, only four years ago, LGBTQ+ students were often met with bullying and harassment. As I mentioned before, art reflects reality. Hopefully this means we’re moving towards a more inclusive and accepting country.

Another key takeaway is that most of the main characters are queer! Which, unfortunately is not portrayed often throughout the film industry. Funny enough the only straight main characters, Dillon and Stacey, are the only characters I found to be insufferable. Dillon and Stacey cannot keep their hands off each other. Which I understand. They’re teenagers in love. However, the bit got old fast. Another character that was not as intolerable as Dillon and Stacey, yet quite annoying, was Paige’s mother. Though I appreciate that Ms. Evans is accepting and supportive of her daughters identity, she is a bit too comfortable with Paige. It is implied that Ms. Evans is straight. All I’ll say is there seems to be a trend amongst the heterosexual characters in this film.

My last takeaway from Crush is that it was not heartbreaking, which I greatly appreciate. Of course, this film had some sad moments. After all, this film features a cliche love triangle. Eventually this dilemma was sorted out and everyone was happy at the end. Now, I understand this type of ending is not necessarily realistic. But who cares? It was a palette cleanser.

Overall, this film is not incredible, but it will make you smile. The acting is okay and the plot is predictable. However, I believe that the world is in need of more feel-good LGBTQ+ films. Especially for queer youth.