STRAIGHT EXPECTATIONS

A heat-of-the-moment wish comes true and causes a gay British teen to wake up straight.

Out and proud Max Baker is hoping to get through his last year of high school by serving as fashion consultant for his school’s theater department and managing his incurable crush on soccer player Oliver Cheng. Max’s best friends, Dean and Alicia, seem to have their futures figured out. Max, on the other hand, is uncertain about what comes next, and he dreams of having the high school romance that many queer kids miss out on. Dean and Alicia are more than happy to help set Max up with Oliver, even if it means embarrassing Max in the process. But when they push too far, and the matchmaking plan fails, the ensuing argument culminates in Max’s wishing to be “normal.” He wakes up the next day to find that it’s more than his sexuality that’s changed: He has different friends, his parents are no longer divorced, and, worst of all, Dean has vanished. The story hinges on Max’s being upset enough to wish away his current circumstances, but the catalyzing event feels exaggerated and unbelievable, making it hard to buy into the premise. Max is white; Oliver, Dean, and Alicia are all people of color, and through them, Max is made aware of the ways he has privilege due to his race.

A clever concept that misses the mark in its execution.