Jake is about to enter his senior year at high school, and is hoping to finally make the basketball team, though he may be more interested in photography. His girlfirend, and long-time friend Valerie, is pressing him to lose their virginity together. A new family moves in across the back alley, which includes Alexs, an openly gay basketball player also entering his senior year. They bond over basketball practice, and when they watch a game together in Jake's bedroom, Jake impulsively kisses Alexs, and his world changes. As Jake gets pulled in various directions, he has to decide who he is, and who he wants to be.
Meanwhile, there is a parallel drama happening in the rest of the family. Jake's father's dreams of basketball glory ended with an injury in high school, and both parents dropped out of school altogether when father got mother pregnant. They worked in his parents' restaurant, eventually owning it. However, mother resents not finishing school, and the long hours of work at the restaurant. She is horrified when Jake's sister enters culinary school. A revelation puts the family relationships at risk.
This is a well-done coming-of-age and coming out story, but the family's story gives it extra depth. It creates diversity in the gay coming-out collection, as the first story I've seen with characters of Chinese origin (Linsanity and Yao Ming get a passing reference). The leads do have heat between them, and Jake's conflicted relationship with Valerie appears genuine. There is a social media presence, which does drive the story in a several parts of the plot, making it more realistic.
I saw this at the Inside Out 2SLGBT+ Film Festival, where the director mentioned that this project was done during the covid era, with actors being interviewed over Zoom, and it surprised him to find that the leads already knew each other in real life.
