Alex and Bradley are best friends, both on the football team and make a great pair. Brad has a girlfriend and always wonders why Alex doesn't come out to party. Alex loves piano and constantly practices for his recital so that he can go to college. This is something he cannot compromise with. One day at the rest stop of a gas station, he gets beaten up by a truck driver for refusing his advances. To his horror, the driver accuses Alex of trying to make a pass at him. News soon spread about this. When Brad finds out, he wants to fix things but is shocked to hear that the reason Alex didn't contest that was because he is actually gay. Brad is shocked and leaves and comes back around the very next day, like a true friend. The rest of the movie is less about Alex holding up to being gay or his struggles, but is more about how Brad stays true to his friend, to his friendship, face all odds, even go against his militarian and disciplinarian father and always be there for his friend; even if that means that he risk football and scholarship from his school.
Like I said before, the context is very relevant even in today's time. Every Alex needs a friend like Brad who do not go 180 degree on their friend just because they are gay. The last scene when Brad shows up for Alex's recital after going against his dad was awesome. Even before that, the way he stands up to his football coach to make sure no injustice is done to Alex is praiseworthy. I liked the fact that no unnecessary drama was introduced in the film just for the sake of it. If this film was made today, the makers would probably wanna throw in a romantic angle between the leads and thank god for this being absent in this film. It was also good to see Alex having a very supportive and accepting father. You have to see the film from teenagers point of view. It very effectively offers likable young characters and riles you up about their issues before offering moral lessons. And this is where the film scores big time in my eyes. The actors playing lead characters are both good looking and act really well.
Set in a small town, at the time the film was made, in reality, probably the openly out gay teen would have been left all alone; but I am glad to see that Alex had a friend who stands by him against some pretty tough pressure from teammates, the coach, his girlfriend and his own father. Highly recommended. (8/10)
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