A transgender or fakaleitī student Lisa, of Tongan origin starts her fourth high school, St Valentine’s, after having to leave her previous three schools due to bullying. She was born Lewis and her mother still calls him the and identifies him as her son. She meets Moses, captain and star of the school and they do not get along as expected and also this other bitchy girl who for some reason is jealous of her and the other are in class. By constantly breaking the fourth wall, Lisa tells us her story. She is fierce and bitchy and gives it right back to anyone who gives her any bullying comment. Moses is dared by his friends to make Lisa fall in love with him. They slowly start to hang around and yes, slowly Lisa starts to fall for Moses. While whole school is secretly in on the game. In between we also see how Lisa and her mother are going through thrown issues with regards to Lisa's gender identity and acceptance. Eventually at the school ball. Lisa shows up with her mom dressed as a girl and is dancing with Moses. This is when the bitchy girl (ex-girlfriend of Moses) announces the truth on how Moses has been playing her. Moses apologizes and tries to tell her the truth that he has really fallen for her. Lisa would have none of it, or maybe she will. There is a kiss and you think they will finally make amends but in a very very pleasantly surprising finale, you end up screaming "You go girl!!". It’s ultimately all about self-empowerment and breaking chains of generational trauma in polynesian households.
There are so many things I liked about the film. Breaking of fourth wall, how Lisa handles the verbal bullying and gives it right back, the punches and dialogues; these were all spot on. The jokes really land and it's fun to see Lisa's bitchy side while also trying to protect herself. She faces ignorance, clichéd insults and obnoxious stares from the public on her journey to acceptance from her loved ones. There are a lot of powerful scenes here, eg, like when the school teacher acknowledges her as Lisa with the right pronouns normalizes Lisa’s preference with so much respect or the scene towards the end when Lisa lashes out saying folks have no idea how every single day is like walking in her shoes. The perfect finale was a great surprise and realistic by not making Moses and Lisa end up together. In the end, you feel nothing but pride for Lisa as she reclaims her womanhood and becomes who she’s meant to be. Though the script does follow quite a bit of the expected path, it’s the execution that sets it apart. The actress playing the lead is so much fun and great performer; whether dreaming of victory or experiencing a living nightmare, there’s never a note of falsehood, of put-ons, or airs, with the way she presents Lisa, bringing life into each scene rather than vacuously depriving it of energy. Moses is hot as fuck and the other school characters were as you would expect them, an eclectic mix. The beauty of this show is how authentic a representation it is of the Pasifika community and a beautiful validation that the stories from this community deserves the spotlight. I would highly highly recommend this film. And I would actually be very curious to see what happens next. Someone please make a sequel. (8/10)
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