Big Boys: a story of 'self-acceptance'
Corey Sherman's debut feature is full of 'gentle humour and empathy' supported by an 'endearing' cast
Loosely inspired by his own childhood experiences, writer/director Corey Sherman's low-budget debut feature "explores a boy's cautious first steps towards sexual awakening with gentle humour and empathy", said Wendy Ide in The Observer.
Isaac Krasner stars as Jamie, a chubby, dorky 14-year-old who is outraged to discover that his beloved cousin Allie (Dora Madison Burge) has invited her new boyfriend Dan (David Johnson III) to join them on their long-planned family camping trip to California's San Bernardino Mountains. But when the teenager actually meets Dan – a big, brawny dude who wears his baseball cap backwards – he is "immediately smitten, spewing his breathless admiration in an unfiltered rush of chatter and brooding in his tent at night as he fantasises about gruff and manly bonding moments".
The film is "in the same sun-kissed terrain" as "Call Me by Your Name" and "My Summer of Love", said Kevin Maher in The Times. But whereas those pictures celebrated "the liberating possibilities of gay romance", this one dwells on the "heroic levels of self-acceptance that the soft and achingly sensitive Jamie has to access in order to fit into his family's straight and unavoidably macho world".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The performances are uniformly strong (Krasner's in particular is "remarkable"), and the script is brilliantly economical. The "coming-of-age" genre is an overcrowded one, said Peter Debruge in Variety; and some of the scenes here feel rather familiar. Nevertheless, aided by an "endearing" cast, Sherman manages on limited means to make his film memorable.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
Reforming the House of LordsThe Explainer Keir Starmer’s government regards reform of the House of Lords as ‘long overdue and essential’
-
Sudoku: February 2026Puzzles The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
The Beckhams: the feud dividing BritainIn the Spotlight ‘Civil war’ between the Beckhams and their estranged son ‘resonates’ with families across the country
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
The Flower Bearers: a ‘visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional destruction’The Week Recommends Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ ‘open wound of a memoir’ is also a powerful ‘love story’ and a ‘portrait of sisterhood’
-
Steal: ‘glossy’ Amazon Prime thriller starring Sophie TurnerThe Week Recommends The Game of Thrones alumna dazzles as a ‘disillusioned twentysomething’ whose life takes a dramatic turn during a financial heist
-
Anna Ancher: Painting Light – a ‘moving’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends Dulwich Picture Gallery show celebrates the Danish artist’s ‘virtuosic handling of the shifting Nordic light’
-
H is for Hawk: Claire Foy is ‘terrific’ in tender grief dramaThe Week Recommends Moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir
-
Our Town: Michael Sheen stars in ‘beautiful’ Thornton Wilder classicThe Week Recommends Opening show at the Welsh National Theatre promises a ‘bright’ future
-
Music reviews: Zach Bryan, Dry Cleaning, and Madison BeerFeature “With Heaven on Top,” “Secret Love,” and “Locket”