I don’t think there’s a single straight character in Crush, the latest queer-themed high school movie just released to Hulu and Disney+. And that itself might be something of a landmark. Where the teen movie genre used to be dominated by boring heterosexuals left and right, now no film of that type can get away with completely excluding the LGBTQ community, very visible these days in most high schools. But I don’t know that I’ve seen a movie push that as far as Crush. No more do these movies need to burden themselves with coming out or acceptance narratives -it’s 2022! And at this suburban high school, sexual orientation is such a non-groundbreaking thing that it’s stranger to be straight. Even its’ token het-presenting couple are heavily queer-coded.
It probably does cross over into unbelievability for this, but then a function of certain teen movies, especially the rom-coms, is to be a kind of fantasy. That school is perhaps designed to be an idealized, wholly affirming environment for LGBTQ youth, where everyone’s orientation is somewhere between questioning and fluid. It’s not the reason why Crush isn’t a terribly compelling movie, though it does contribute to an overall dishonest feel that is supported by several script shortcomings. Because for all its’ abundance of representation, its’ plot is something not nearly as radical.
Written by Kirsten King and Casey Rackham, and directed by Sammi Cohen, Crush is about an art-oriented student Paige (Rowan Blanchard) who’s harboured a years-long infatuation with popular track superstar Gabriela (Isabella Ferreira); and to get closer to her (and to avoid a wrongful suspension for pun-themed graffiti), she joins the track team, only to be partnered with Gabriela’s unassuming twin sister AJ (Auli’i Cravalho) -whom she soon starts to fall for instead.
It’s a cute premise, and ‘cute’ really does describe the movies’ tone. As much as it occasionally makes a sexual reference or drops the f-bomb, it’s an extremely chaste movie that puts a lot of stock in first kisses and flirtatious body language. Every time Paige sees her crush she envisions a bed of flowers around them that distracts her -and actual interactions are even more awkward, it’s that kind of movie. And though this affectation can be nice and the actresses play it well, it’s also pretty shallow, which doesn’t much help a narrative direction that is equally so. Crush really plays to a lot of conventions, perhaps hoping that the queer angle will keep you from noticing this. But its’ script is not adept enough to effectively overcome its’ series of formulas, some of which are quite tiring. I mean do we really need that contrived third act break-up in 2022? It’s just a substitute for genuine stakes.
The screenplay probably is the weakest aspect of the movie, one that is written for a Gen-Z voice but clearly from a place that is a degree removed. The film is trying to be emphatically Gen-Z-oriented, and I won’t claim to understand the kids these days any more than the writers, but I can tell when the dialogue and characterization doesn’t feel entirely authentic. For lack of a better term, awkward “woke-isms” are scattered throughout to a level that rings very false. Though yes, this generation is generally more politically conscious, socially considerate, and progressively aware than previous ones, I don’t buy that modern teenagers are so averse to inter-personal conflicts, so respectful of any perceived difference, or naturally receptive to boundaries. It gets to the point of parody at times, such as in a couple being turned on by AOC speeches or an acknowledgement of the importance of consent preceding a round of ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ -which strikes me as a party game way out of date for kids in 2022 to begin with. It’s not natural in the way that something like Booksmart was, which paired its’ image of a progressive youth culture with the typical teenage bullshit that never dies. Here, that aforementioned couple, each running individually for student president have absolutely no qualms about the other one winning. There’s not an ounce of friction to be found in virtually the entire school.
Another issue that arises from this is that the film is not particularly funny, outside of a subplot involving Paige’s mother (a delightful Megan Mullally -who might be too supportive and open with her daughter) hitting on the track coach (Aasif Mandvi). The moments of comedy don’t really land, some there, particularly in the early-goings to just ham-fistedly, reinforce Paige’s gayness. They aren’t constructed with much real interest is the problem, based more in tropes than character, and at times are on par with the kind of humour you’d see on the Disney Channel.
The creators’ passion is rather focused on the feelings and the chemistry -which is admittedly where the movie is much stronger. Paige isn’t a particularly notable protagonist on paper, but Blanchard injects enough life into her to generate some honest sympathy amid all the twee anxieties. I don’t think the relationship between her and AJ is necessarily developed organically enough: their principal bonding is through AJ’s unexpected interest in Paige’s art. But the romantic tension is felt. AJ is probably the movies’ best written character, with the only real baggage that resonates -a somewhat difficult home life characterized by an absent father and a constant inferiority complex in relation to her sister who always seems to be the favourite. This specifically lends a legitimacy and a pathos to one of the movies’ third act clichés not found anywhere else. And one thing’s for sure, in the years since Moana, Hollywood has failed Auli’i Cravalho by not putting her in more movies. Crush is only her second time not playing the Pacific Island princess for Disney, after Brett Haley's sweet All Together Now in 2020, in which she thoroughly proves herself a real rich and captiving talent. And in fact she walks away with the performance of this movie too. The rest of the cast are mostly alright -Ferreira isn’t given enough to work with but is capable nonetheless, and though he’s largely playing a stock character, it was nice to see American Vandal’s Tyler Alvarez in the role of Paige’s best friend. And Mullally of course proves to be a welcome adult respite anytime she’s on screen.
Fundamentally, Crush is a mediocre movie that aspires to very little more than being a cute teen rom-com about a queer couple. Compared to something like Booksmart or Alice Wu’s The Half of It, it doesn’t offer up much insight or paint a convincing picture of a teenage queer experience -though I concede that may be the point, and in its’ bright patches it is charming. On some level it does fulfil its’ limited ambitions, and I can see it being a cathartic movie for some. I just don’t think it needed to settle for less.
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