It's truly a wild thing that a quaint 100-minute rom com involving a cast of young diverse people, in both race and sexuality, is still kind of a radical thing. Even looking back at the last big “gay” romance movie with 2018’s “Love, Simon”, a large part of the plot of that film revolved around the typical “coming out” experience. A rom com, or even romance film, featuring queer people just being themselves, without the potential headaches or trauma of coming out, might not be rare anymore, but it certainly isn’t the norm.
That is merely one of the reasons that “Crush” feels just so… nice. It's formulaic and cliched certainly, anyone who’s seen a high school rom com in the last twenty years will see that obviously. But it's in the little details and actors that it manages to charm its way right into any viewer’s heart.
It’s all about Paige, played by Rowan Blanchard (“Girl Meets World,” “Snowpiercer (2020)”), a high school junior struggling to apply for Cal Arts and still pinning after queen bee and childhood crush Gabriela, played by Isabella Ferreira (“Love, Victor”). When Paige is then framed for vandalizing the school, she makes a deal to join the sparsely populated track team in exchange for not being suspended. She ends up training with Gabriela’s sister, AJ, played by Auli’i Cravalho (“Moana,” “All Together Now”), and things quickly spiral into a love triangle and mystery to find the vandal.
Truly this is a film where the cast is just fun, light, and charming enough to sell the material without overpowering any of it. Blanchard is just so good as Paige. She’s fun and adorable, awkward but not shy. The kind of person you want to befriend almost as soon as you meet her. Ferreira plays Gabriela as the popular girl, for sure, but not in a mean or annoying way, letting her be just as fun and carefree as the rest. The last of the main trio, Cravalho is just snarky enough to pull off the silent tomboy type without letting it get in the way of any likability for her character.
Rounding out the supporting cast is Tyler Alvarez (“Every Witch Way,” “American Vandal”) and Teala Dunn (“All Night” “Are We There Yet? (2010)”) as Dillon and Stacey, Paige’s best friends and a couple, also running against each other for student body president. They’re back and forth competitive nature and overly sexual relationship is a hysterical delight and they’re great in every scene. Aasif Mandvi (“The Daily Show,” “Evil”) and Michelle Buteau (“First Wives Club,” “Tales of the City”) are also here as borderline cameos as the track coach Murray and the school’s Principal Collins. They’re perfect comedic relief, stealing every scene they’re in and providing constant laughs.
But, in terms of supporting cast, this movie belongs to Megan Mullally (“Will & Grace,” “Parks & Recreation”) as Paige’s mother Angie. She’s the kind of ridiculously over-supportive cool mom that borders on cringe-inducing but never crosses that line. She’s a constant smile machine, showcasing real love and support for Paige and her friends while still strutting that awkward cool mom strut, dropping innuendos and awkward sex talks around every corner.
There’s not really anything radical about the filmmaking or visual storytelling here, but it's a nice, quiet film where everything serves its purpose well. Sammi Cohen, a longtime director of comedy skit website CollegeHumor, makes her feature directorial debut and keeps everything moving at a nice even pace. The script, written by Kirsten Kin and Casey Rackham also in their debuts, peppers in tons of curse words and awkward interactions you can’t help but smile at.
The most impressive thing about it is how it all just seems to “get” the longing looks, the awkward smiles, the bouts of anxiety all associated with crushes in high school. It’s hardly a revolutionary piece of writing, but it’s got it where it counts and the cast really sells each and every silly, romantic, charming line and dreamy gaze. And again, after decades of queer romance films featuring angry parents, secret meetings, and being not about the romance itself but the hiding of it, it’s just so nice to see a film this charming and cute also be so proudly open and freeing. There’s no hiding here. It’s just so so gay.
“Crush (2022)” is lightweight fare to be sure, but it's also the kind of lightweight romantic fare you can’t help but smile through. The cast is utterly charming and the script is just funny enough, even as the ending seems to stumble into every rom-com trope it possibly can. It’s an awkward and anxious high school romance that’s still extremely cute and ridiculously gay in the best ways. 3.5/5
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