Big Boys (film)

Big Boys is a 2023 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Corey Sherman on his film debut. It stars Isaac Krasner, David Johnson III, Dora Madison Burge, Taj Cross and Emily Deschanel. The film is about a self-discovery of teenage boy who secretly falls in love with his cousin's boyfriend.

Plot
As shy Jamie enters his awkward teen years, the differences between him and his older jock brother Will are becoming more pronounced beyond the superficial. With his beloved cousin Allie returning from college to take them on a camping trip, Jamie eagerly awaits their reunion that is until Allie arrives with her new boyfriend, the stocky and handsome Dan. As the weekend progresses, Will forces Jamie to join him in chasing girls, but Jamie can’t help being drawn to the supportive good nature of Dan.

Cast

 * Isaac Krasner as Jamie
 * David Johnson III as Dan
 * Dora Madison Burge as Allie
 * Taj Cross as Will
 * Emily Deschanel as Nicole
 * Marion Van Cuyck as Erika
 * Emma Broz as Quinn
 * Jack De Sanz as Fantasy Jamie

Production
In an interview on March 17, 2023, Corey Sherman shares that the idea of Big Boys came to him on May of 2021 while he was on a road trip with his brother and his dad. He also added that he shares the initial draft of the screenplay with his friend Allison Tate, which will be one of the producer of Big Boys. They began to work with the people that they had to worked with in college. The shooting began in the summer of 2022 at San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. Corey added:

Release
The film premiered at BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival on March 18, 2023, Provincetown International Film Festival on June 15, 2023, Outfest LA Film Festival on July 22, 2023, It was also premiered at Cleveland International Film Festival on April 9, 2024, and has a limited release in the United States on May 31, 2024.

Home media
The film was released on Video on demand (VOD) platforms in the US on June 11, 2024.

Reception
Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive feedback and said: Corey Sherman’s deliciously uncomfortable debut features a lot of the usual ingredients: a misfit teenage protagonist, a transformative couple days (in this case, a “cousins’ camping trip” to Lake Arrowhead), a series of embarrassing but life-altering experiences. But I hadn’t seen anyone like his main character at the center of a movie before and loved how awkwardly this kid navigates trying to figure himself out. Ryan Gilbey of The Guardian gave the film a perfect 5 star and wrote: With its come-on of a title, its coming-of-age narrative and its teen hero on the verge of coming out, Big Boys sounds like the sort of LGBTQIA+ fare that grows on trees. In fact, this debut from the writer-director Corey Sherman is a real four-leaf clover: delicate, unique and subtly magical.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and he said: The film captures with enormous sweetness feelings probably familiar to many queer adolescents still figuring out who they are — of insecurity, questioning and giddy crushes on frequently unattainable objects of desire.