The Wise Kids (2011)

The Wise Kids

• Stephen Cone paints an astoundingly realistic picture of faith deconstruction and sexuality in this drama, and it’s very similar to his other piece of work, ‘Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party’. This one focuses more on the church aspects of dealing with repressed feelings and how to dig through your faith, which I really liked and found very relatable. I think every religious person has probably once been at a point where they doubt and have plenty of questions, especially if they are LGBTQ+ identifying. Having a queer or trans identity while growing up in a religious family and environment can be extremely tricky to navigate, and this film shows that pretty well. Both from a queer and straight perspective. Now I’m not pretending that this film is generational and amazing, because you can obviously tell that the budget is about ten dollars and a ham sandwich. The overall quality also feels very homemade, but honestly, that completely grounds the film. It does feel very cheesy at times, but it also hits pretty well when the moment calls for it. The performances sometimes feel a bit stale and more like a high school drama class, but everyone was cast very well and I liked the crew we got. Tim is so loveable and the main girls portray dogma and curiosity in a very authentic way. Overall, it’s a brutally realistic look at religion and sexuality, though it’s certainly not a film that elevates above others. I don’t mean that disrespectfully at all, it’s just a bit slow and cringey. But it’s still good and I have immense respect for everyone involved. I would recommend it to most religious/drama fans.