Club Kid - Movie Review

The Movie: Club Kid

The Director: Jordan Firstman

The Cast: Jordan Firstman, Reggie Absolom, Diego Calva, Cara Delevingne, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Colleen Camp, Vicki Pepperdine, Nigil Whyte, Eldar Isgandarov, Saturn Risin9, Miss Benny, Alaska Riley

The Story: A hard-partying New York City club promoter sees his whirlwind lifestyle upended by the arrival of the 10-year-old son he never knew he had.

The Rating: 9 / 10

The Review:

Every year, there's a movie or two that come out of nowhere and immediately enter the awards race while also becoming unexpected box office hits. I'm not sure if this story has enough mass appeal to tick both of those boxes but it should definitely get a lot of recognition when it comes time for nominations and awards to be given out. This is Jordan's first time directing a feature film although he does have plenty of experience in TV and short films and has been a working actor for years and all of that experience really adds to the overall quality of this movie.

What really stands out about this movie is how real it is. The characters are real. The story is real. The problems are real. Everything about this story is 100% believable even as some of the moments seem very outlandish, this is real life. If you've ever spent any length of time within the nightclub scene, you'll feel right at home with this movie although maybe you didn't nosedive straight into the wild drug culture that's on display here, but you were probably at least aware of its existence. I love that Firstman doesn't pull any punches when showing the literal highs and lows that the character's lifestyles are filled with and he doesn't shy away from the effects that alcohol and drug use can have on a person.

I also really like that all of the characters just exist in this story. There are trans people, gay people, straight people, and just about anyone else you could think of as part of the colorful tapestry of lifestyles that a person can claim. Too often we see a trans person in movies as the butt of a joke or as comic relief or as a sideshow that we gawk at for a moment before getting on with the story. Case in point on this is Saturn Risin9, an American queer performance artist, singer, filmmaker, DJ, and actress, who plays Saffron, a trans character that plays a major role and is a highly significant person in Peter's life throughout the movie. Out of anyone in the story, I felt like Saffron was one of the most compelling and human characters which is a credit to the performance and the performer.

The one thing that I will say about the movie that could have been nudged a little differently, and this is about as nit-picky as I'll ever get, is that solutions to problems seem to present themselves very easily considering the topics of drug use, parenting, relationships, and all the other stuff the characters are given to deal with but it does help the narrative move along at its intendedly whimsical pace so I'm not too mad about it. Firstman puts his character through an awful lot and there's only a couple times where he doesn't come out on top and a better person for it although, by the end, he is a much better person than where we met him and his life is on a much better path.

Sometimes movies can tackle difficult topics, put their characters through the ringer, but still have fun along the way towards a neatly packaged happy ending and that's exactly what we have here. This is a feel-good movie that makes you earn those good feelings. Firstman has created a world that is just a little to the side of normal but not out of the realm of possibility for anyone if they choose to go down a number of different life paths and he finds way to make you like everyone in the movie even if they tend to make horrible decisions or have moments where you can't stand who they are.

Overall, this is a genuinely entertaining movie and Firstman, who is known to be a bit much for some people because of his creative choices, really takes great care in creating a likeable group of characters inside of a genuinely entertaining story, even if it means sugar coating his way through some of the deeper concerns that are brought up along the way. The point is that we get to see a man finding unlikely yet hard earned success in life both in front of and behind the camera and I really feel like the director/actor has found his footing and is heading towards some really brilliant times ahead. I'd be surprised if this movie doesn't find its way onto my list of favorite films for the year.

Side note: I was recently watching a live stream where the streamer and everyone in the chat was convinced that there has been zero originality in the film industry for years and, while I can see how that's a perception that can be had, I have to whole heartedly disagree. Yes, the major studios push their franchises and sequels with massive amounts of money and marketing power yet there are so many movies like Club Kid that are released every single month of every single year. I wish people were more willing to just get out there and take a chance on movies again instead of front loading so much expectation that only a superhero could keep them from impending Doom at the local theater. Okay, rant over, please go watch this movie and thank you for reading this review.