Almost Adults

Almost Adults is a 2016 Canadian comedy film directed by Sarah Rotella starring Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis. The film is a platonic love story about two lifelong best friends struggling to keep their friendship together as their lives head in different directions. It was written by Adrianna DiLonardo.[1]

Almost Adults
Directed bySarah Rotella
Written byAdrianna DiLonardo
Produced byRebecca Swift
StarringNatasha Negovanlis
Elise Bauman
Justin Gerhard
Winny Clarke
CinematographyRyan Glover
Edited byHaya Waseem
Production
company
Unsolicited Pictures
Distributed byGravitas Ventures
Release dates
  • May 28, 2016 (2016-05-28) (Toronto LGBT Film Festival)
  • February 7, 2017 (2017-02-07)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Premise

The film follows two best friends in their final year of college while they transition into adulthood. One embraces her sexuality and tries to catch up on everything she has missed during her teenage years, while the other ends a long-term relationship with her boyfriend and discovers her life isn't going as planned. Both struggle to keep their friendship together as they begin growing apart.[2]

Cast
  • Natasha Negovanlis as Cassie
  • Elise Bauman as Mackenzie
  • Justin Gerhard as Levi
  • Winny Clarke as Elliot
  • Mark Matechuk as Matthew
  • Pujaa Pandey as Tasha
  • Delphine Roussel as Diane
  • Meredith Heinrich as Lisa
  • Christina Song as Juliana
  • Daryl Marks as John
  • David J Phillips as Dr. Reese

Production

The film was shot in Toronto, Ontario in 2015, over the course of 11 days.[3][4]

Release

Almost Adults was fully funded through Kickstarter in 2015, reaching 305% of its goal in 30 days.[5] The film won IndieWire's Project Of The Year in 2015, and was a part of the Tribeca Film Institute Network.[6][7] Almost Adults premiered at the Inside Out Film Festival where it won honourable mention in the Best Feature Film category and went on to screen at 12 more festivals worldwide.[8] Almost Adults had its U.S. premiere at Outfest. The film was acquired by Gravitas Ventures and released on video on demand in 2017.

Reception

Buzzfeed included Almost Adults in their list "25 Films That Have Made A Difference To The LGBT Community".[9] Autostraddle praised the film for flipping the script on classic lesbian movie tropes, commenting that the story wasn't about either of the characters having feelings for the other, or Mack coming out and Cassie not accepting her, but rather that they were both "young and selfish and trying to figure out who they were and how they fit into each other's lives."[10] Curve said the "film takes a light hearted and comedic approach at portraying the struggles all young adults face."[11]

The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review, stating that "... above all else, it excels at remaining inoffensive, which isn't always the best approach for an adult comedy dealing with high-stakes personal issues." The review went on to praise Negovanlis and Bauman's chemistry, but stated "the comedic quotient drops noticeably in scenes with mostly underwhelming supporting cast members." The review criticized how predictable the film was, but gave praise to Rotella for "[having] an eye for visual humor and comedic timing."[12]

DorkShelf.com Casey Reid wrote a positive review in regards to the movie both by praising the movie itself and the director, "Almost Adults is a cohesive debut film that shows our digital age's love and relationships in a fresh way, signalling a promising career for Sarah Rotella." She continues, "what makes Almost Adults refreshing is that it's reflexive of contemporary queer culture, albeit white centric, in a way that signals a shift in queer cinema. While it does not quite touch on ideas of nostalgia so entrenched in queer cinema, it seems to directly reflect how young people connect and disconnect with themselves and each other." However she does mention how the films "lacks depth in certain areas."[13]

See also

References
  1. "Growing Up Without Growing Apart is Hard for 'Almost Adults'". Indiewire. March 19, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  2. "Almost Adults Movie - See the official trailer now!". Almost Adults Movie. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  3. "Toronto-based Almost Adults filmmakers say no thanks to the theatrical distribution deal". NOW Magazine. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  4. "Austin Film Festival Review: Almost Adults". Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  5. "Almost Adults Feature". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  6. Indiewire; Indiewire (2016-01-20). "Congratulations to 'Almost Adults,' Indiewire's Project of the Year!". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  7. "Almost Adults". Tribeca Film Institute. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  8. "Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Rotella — "Almost Adults"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  9. "25 Films That Have Made A Difference To The LGBT Community". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  10. ""Almost Adults" Is a Cute Lesbian Movie to Add to the Very Short List of Actually Good Lesbian Movies". Autostraddle. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  11. Davis, Annalese. "Almost Adults". Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  12. "'Almost Adults': Outfest Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  13. "Inside Out 2016: Almost Adults Review". 25 May 2016.
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