''Alex Strangelove'' is a 2018 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film written and directed by Craig Johnson and starring

Daniel Doheny Daniel Doheny is a Canadian actor known for starring in the 2017 Canadian comedy film '' Adventures in Public School'' and the 2018 Netflix films '' Alex Strangelove'', a coming-of-age story, and '' The Package'', a raunchy comedy. Early life a ...

, Antonio Marziale, and Madeline Weinstein. The film had its world premiere at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

on April 14, 2018. It was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on June 8, 2018.

Plot

High school student Alex Truelove has been friends with Claire for a while. After discovering her mother is being tested for cancer, she and Alex share a moment where Alex comforts her. They kiss and then begin dating. After Alex is embarrassed in front of his friends about still being a virgin, he and Claire make a plan to book a hotel room and have sex for the first time. At a party, Alex meets Elliot, an openly gay teenager. Alex's continued interactions with Elliot, who has an obvious crush on Alex, lead him to question his sexuality. Alex confesses to his friend Dell that he believes he might be bisexual, but Dell says that he is just nervous about losing his virginity to Claire and his anxiety has led him to a false conclusion. One day while hanging out in Elliot's bedroom, Alex kisses him, but immediately regrets it and storms out. During the evening of their first time having sex, Alex blurts out to Claire that he has feelings for someone else and she throws him out. Later, still avoiding Elliot, Alex goes to a party where he drunkenly sleeps with a girl he only just met. Claire catches them, and Alex chases her into the night. He falls into a swimming pool where traumatic memories from his childhood come back to him. Claire finds him by the pool, where he confesses to her that he is gay. They decide to go to prom together anyway. At prom, Claire reveals she has invited Elliot to be Alex's actual date, knowing that neither of them would actually make the move without her "passing the baton". While Alex is initially concerned about everyone watching him, he decides that his affection for Elliot is stronger and kisses him. The story ends with Alex creating a video with Claire detailing his coming out.

Cast

as Alex Truelove * Antonio Marziale as Elliot * Madeline Weinstein as Claire * Daniel Zolghadri as Dell *

Nik Dodani Nik Dodani (born December 19, 1993) is an American actor, writer, and comedian known for his roles as Zahid in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Atypical'', and Pat Patel in the revival of the popular CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown''. Career Acti ...

as Blake *

Fred Hechinger Fred Hechinger (; born on December 2, 1999) is an American actor. He began his career with supporting roles in such films as the coming-of-age film '' Eighth Grade'' (2018), the period drama ''News of the World'' (2020), and the psychological t ...

as Josh * Annie Q. as Sophie Hicks *

Ayden Mayeri Ayden Mayeri (born October 1, 1990) is an Iranian-American actress, comedian, and writer, known for her work in both television and film. On television, she had a recurring role in ''Homecoming'' (2018) and starred in the Peacock comedy '' Mr. ...

as Hilary *

Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe (born July 5, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alexandra Eames on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of ''Law & Order'', and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series '' Oz''. Early l ...

as Helen * Joanna P. Adler as Holly Truelove * William Ragsdale as Ron Truelove *

Isabella Amara Isabella Amara (born October 9, 1998) is an American actress and singer. She gained attention for her role as Sally Avril in the films '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017) and '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018). She also became known for her role ...

as Gretchen * Sophie Faulkenberry as Sierra * Dante Costabile as Dakota * Isley Reust as Isley * Jesse James Keitel as Sidney

Production

In May 2016, it was announced Craig Johnson would write and direct the film, with Jared Goldman,

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

and Nicholas Weinstock producing the film, under their Red Hour Films banner.

STX Entertainment STX Entertainment is an American independent entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds and TPG Growth managing partner Bill McGlashan, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projec ...

would distribute the film. In April 2017,

acquired the film, with STX Entertainment still producing the film. That same month, Daniel Doheny joined the cast of the film. In June 2017,

and Antonio Marziale joined the cast of the film.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in May 2017.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on April 14, 2018. It was released on June 8, 2018, on

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Alex Strangelove'' offers a refreshingly insightful – and fittingly adult – take on teen sexuality enlivened by smart humor and a fearlessly progressive approach." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

References

External links

* * {{Craig Johnson 2018 films 2018 LGBTQ-related films 2018 romantic comedy films 2010s American films 2010s coming-of-age comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s high school films 2010s teen comedy films 2010s teen romance films American coming-of-age comedy films American high school films American romantic comedy films American teen comedy films American teen LGBTQ-related films American teen romance films Coming-of-age romance films English-language romantic comedy films Films directed by Craig Johnson Films produced by Ben Stiller Films scored by Nathan Larson Films shot in New York City Gay-related films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age comedy films LGBTQ-related romantic comedy films Netflix original films Red Hour Productions films STX Entertainment films