'GBF' is set in an American high school where no pupil has ever admitted being homosexual (a reticence possibly explained by one of its main cliques being of Mormons). But this changes when comic book geek Tanner is accidentally outed, and to the school's most popular cool girls he suddenly becomes that most desirable of accessories: the Gay Best Friend.
Tanner's journey from outsider to prom king, and how it affects both him and the uncool friends he leaves behind (including his 'still in the closet despite being the screamiest queen since Graham Norton' best friend) forms the meat of the film. You'll be able to cross off the teen movie plot developments as they arrive with clunking regularity: Tanner's former friends are disappointed in him; the school's most popular girl is actually insecure and simply wants a friend; at the end there's a big speech about being true to oneself and everyone claps. Not usually seen in teen movies, but in countless other genres, is the entirely predictable 'we already know' reaction of Tanner's parents when he comes out to them.
The characters are also from the teen movie checklist (the prom queen, the jock, the cynical girl, the less-attractive-than-the-cute-lead best friend). One of the film's most telling (possibly unintentionally) moments is when a white girl tells the film's sole main black character how she's always wanted an 'SBF' - Sassy Black Friend.
But perhaps that's the point: this is a bog-standard teen movie, but with a gay boy as the lead character instead of being one of the main character's hangers-on. There's a lot of laughs (particularly when Tanner, nonplussed at his parents' calm reaction to his coming out, suggests he might instead be bisexual and his father bursts out laughing). You'll also have fun spotting the famous television faces in supporting roles - Jonathan Silverman, Rebecca Gayheart, Megan Mullally... In short, if teen movies are all much the same, there's no point in watching more than one of them, and you could do worse than make this the one you watch.
Tanner's journey from outsider to prom king, and how it affects both him and the uncool friends he leaves behind (including his 'still in the closet despite being the screamiest queen since Graham Norton' best friend) forms the meat of the film. You'll be able to cross off the teen movie plot developments as they arrive with clunking regularity: Tanner's former friends are disappointed in him; the school's most popular girl is actually insecure and simply wants a friend; at the end there's a big speech about being true to oneself and everyone claps. Not usually seen in teen movies, but in countless other genres, is the entirely predictable 'we already know' reaction of Tanner's parents when he comes out to them.
The characters are also from the teen movie checklist (the prom queen, the jock, the cynical girl, the less-attractive-than-the-cute-lead best friend). One of the film's most telling (possibly unintentionally) moments is when a white girl tells the film's sole main black character how she's always wanted an 'SBF' - Sassy Black Friend.
But perhaps that's the point: this is a bog-standard teen movie, but with a gay boy as the lead character instead of being one of the main character's hangers-on. There's a lot of laughs (particularly when Tanner, nonplussed at his parents' calm reaction to his coming out, suggests he might instead be bisexual and his father bursts out laughing). You'll also have fun spotting the famous television faces in supporting roles - Jonathan Silverman, Rebecca Gayheart, Megan Mullally... In short, if teen movies are all much the same, there's no point in watching more than one of them, and you could do worse than make this the one you watch.