Straight Up (2019)

I liked a lot this movie about Todd, a young man with OCD, unsure of his sexuality, who begins a relationship with a straight woman who is happy with just the way they are. Director/writer/star James Sweeney has been nominated for the Best First Screenplay Spirit Award. Imdb calls it "a love story without the thrill of copulation."

Katie Findlay, as the friend Rory, is well-suited for the witty repartee that earned Sweeney the nomination. Also seen are Tracie Thoms as Todd's therapist and Betsy Brandt and Randall Park as his parents.

The music by Logan Nelson isn't available online, but here is a list of songs. This was the third movie of the eight I saw in eight days last week, so forgive me if I have even less than my usual sense of recall. I was preparing to vote for the Spirit Awards on April 9 and I will publish my ballot once I post about all eight movies.

Sweeney was inspired by a college class that examined the limitations of sexual identity.

Park was last blogged for Always Be My Maybe. Sweeney has previously made some short films and Findlay was in 16 episodes of How to Get Away with Murder and more. Thoms is best known to me for Rent (2005), ten episodes of Love, and a couple of Station 19. I've enjoyed Brandt's work in, among others, 62 episodes of Breaking Bad, seven of Masters of Sex, seven of Parenthood, and 79 of Life in Pieces.

 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics average a straight up 93%, while its audiences are bent down to 68. Many distributors refused the movie because it is shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio (like old school television), but Netflix took it and you can see it there. I streamed it on April 5.