Directed by: Dan Mazer
Screenplay by: Tim Long
Cast: Ed Oxenbould, Avan Jogia, Justin Hartley, Jennifer Irwin, Paul Braunstein
Genre: Comedy / Coming-of-Age
Runtime: 93 minutes
💬 Plot Overview
Set in 1986, The Exchange follows Timmy (Ed Oxenbould), an awkward, introverted Canadian high schooler obsessed with French culture who decides to host a French exchange student to find a like-minded soul. Expecting a sophisticated, turtleneck-wearing intellectual, Timmy is shocked when Stephane (Avan Jogia) arrives instead: a charming, chain-smoking, sex-obsessed French teenager who instantly becomes the most popular guy in town. As Stephane turns Timmy’s quiet suburban life upside down, the film explores the clash between idealistic fantasy and unfiltered reality, testing boundaries of friendship, identity, and adolescence.
🎨 Style & Direction
1980s Suburban Nostalgia: Director Dan Mazer captures the muted, cold aesthetic of 1980s small-town Canada, grounding the story in a authentic retro atmosphere that avoids overly glossy nostalgia.
Culture-Clash Satire: Mazer leverages his signature comedic timing to pit rigid North American suburban sensibilities against European nonchalance, creating sharp, uncomfortable humor around teenage repression and social awkwardness.
Subverting Coming-of-Age Clichés: Rather than relying purely on broad slapstick, Tim Long’s script allows the relationship between the two polar-opposite teens to evolve into a surprising study of insecurity, idolization, and self-acceptance.
💬 QueerFilmHub Perspective
“The Exchange is a sharp, witty coming-of-age comedy that dismantles youthful romanticization—using a chaotic culture clash to examine the gap between who we pretend to be and who we actually are.”
