“Coming out is easy. Asking her out is the hard part.”
VIBE CHECK:
Teen Rom-Com / Supernatural Comedy / Feel-Good / Australian Indie
THE PLOT:
Ellie is a high-achieving 17-year-old who has fallen hard for her classmate Abbie. Just as she’s struggling to find the courage to ask Abbie to the formal, her "fairy godmother" appears—in the form of her deceased Aunt Tara. Tara, a lesbian activist from the 1980s, is determined to give Ellie advice on love and life. The catch? Tara’s advice is hilariously outdated and rooted in a time when being queer was a constant battle, leading to a clash of generations that forces Ellie to learn the true history of the shoulders she stands on.
THE QUEER & RADICAL ANGLE:
The Intergenerational Bridge: The film is radical in how it connects Gen Z's "soft" queer experience with the gritty, political struggle of the previous generation. It honors the activists who fought for the rights Ellie now enjoys.
Aunt Tara's Legacy: Tara represents the "Lost Generation" of queer people. Her presence isn't just for laughs; it serves as a radical reminder of the lives cut short by the AIDS crisis and the resilience required to live out loud in the 80s.
WHY IT KILLS:
It’s incredibly witty and sweet without being saccharine. Sophie Hawkshaw (Ellie) and Zoe Terakes (Abbie) have a chemistry that perfectly captures the awkward, electric energy of high school romance. Marta Dusseldorp also delivers a powerhouse performance as Ellie's mother, grounding the film’s supernatural elements with raw, emotional reality. It’s a movie that celebrates how far we’ve come while reminding us never to forget where we started.
HEARTBEAT SCORE: 9.0 / 10 🇦🇺🏳️🌈
