The best part of any film fest is stumbling into a movie you never planned to see. Be it a schedule change, a chance encounter with a friend, or simply the fact that I wasn’t in the mood for my initial selection, I try to stay open to the fluidity of the moment, and it typically leads to some fun surprises. The two movies I’m reviewing here were last minute audibles, and it turns out they have one very specific thing in common: a high school student lusting over their teacher.
Neither features the famous Van Halen tune.
Brian (dir. Will Ropp)
Ben Wang gives a grand comic performance as the titular Brian, an anxious, awkward high schooler who is so prone to panic attacks and freakouts that his teachers and fellow students have learned to expect them. This, of course, makes climbing the scholastic social ranks nearly impossible for our protagonist. It doesn’t help that he’s hopelessly in love with his teacher Ms. Osweiler (Natalie Morales). It’s just a crush, but Brian is convinced it’s “mature, adult love.” He’s also convinced that by running for class president, he can potentially win her heart. With the help of a kindhearted transfer student (Joshua Colley), and the support of his therapist (William H. Macy), Brian gets to work on his campaign.
The laughs are big, and they come at a consistent rate. Writer Mike Scollins manages to keep a high gag-to-laugh ratio for the entirety of the film, without losing the weight of the thematic material. There are a few moments where the inherent reality of the world falters (is this the real world or a cartoon world?) and a few of the characterizations are undercut by their duties as joke machines, most notably in scenes involving Brian’s parents (Randall Park & Edi Patterson). These excesses prove to be an even trade, however, because the laughs they produce are sturdy, and the performers are always able to bring the scene back down to earth before any one gag overstays its welcome.
While a film like this is all but guaranteed to find most of its life on streaming, it played like gangbusters to crowd. No matter how you eventually consume it, one thing is for damn sure: Ben Wang is a talent to watch. Between carrying this film as a lead, and the tremendous supporting turn he provided in The Long Walk, he’s already showing incredible range as a performer. I was unable to stay for the Q&A with Mike Scollins (festival schedules run tight!), but had I been able to stick around I’d have asked if he wrote the role of Brian with Ben in mind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor so naturally suited to a role. I cannot imagine anyone else playing this utterly unique, layered, and hilarious character.
Extra Geography (dir. – Molly Manners)
While I can’t speak to the experience of a teenaged girl directly, I still feel confident saying that the characterizations in Extra Geography feel genuine. A much denser and more complicated film than any spoiler-free description could possibly relate, this coming-of-age comedy defied my expectations at every turn, going much further, and doing so in much bolder ways than other films of its ilk.
In it we follow Flic and Minna (Marnie Duggan and Galaxie Clear, respectively), two girls at an English boarding school. As their annual “summer project” approaches, the inseparable girls seek an activity to help them become more “worldly,” which they believe will look good on university applications. Their project: to fall in love. Granted, their idea of what love is is informed almost entirely by literature and their own imaginations. So much so that their target of affection is chosen at random: Miss Delevigne (Alice Englert), their geography teacher. As their fanciful project progresses, unexpected social chemistries brew. The two young women are forced to stop living in their shared vacuum, to surprising (and unsurprising) results.
It’s refreshing to see a story about teen girls that isn’t rote or neutered, depicting a complex emotionality that defies tropes at every turn. The film is equally funny and dramatic, unafraid to be crass and frank in both language and subject matter. At the same time as these two young women start to get a taste of adulthood, the script (by Rose Tremain and Miriam Battye) makes sure not to betray the inherent innocence of youth. So often we get films where the kids act like adults or, in the case of Rushmore — the film which this one draws a lot of comparisons to — the adults act like children. Extra Geography allows these leads to be messy and multi-tiered. The audience is allowed to find them as they find themselves.
This, in large part, is due to the exceptional performances from our young leads, both of whom share this as their sole film credit. If you told me they were best friends in real life, I’d believe you. If you told me they both had long and interesting careers ahead of them, I’d agree.
