**Content Warning: This article contains spoilers for Club Kid**
Picture this: sweat lingering in the air, a group of 20-something-year-olds in a club, and “Sex With Me” by Rihanna booming in the background. That’s what we’re greeted with in the first couple of minutes of A24’s latest film, Club Kid.
What is ‘Club Kid’
The movie follows Peter, played by Jordan Firstman, who also directed and wrote Club Kid. Peter is a gay club promoter in New York City in 2016 when the film starts, and in the blink of an eye, as Peter staggers out of the club, it’s 2026. He asks his neighbor and the audience, “Do you ever lose ten years?”
It’s a clever setup for the movie, which quickly introduces Peter’s background, friend group, and business partner. We’re familiarized with his burnout, depression, and substance dependency that plague his life. We’re also acquainted with his community and how he views being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, which is another layer to the story.
Then, in a twist, we’re introduced to Peter’s 10-year-old son, Arlo. It’s a shock to Peter, too, who at first denies the child is his. After a series of miscommunications and ghosting, Peter is left to care for Arlo. He stumbles along the way, makes mistakes, and openly admits that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
The rest of the movie follows life with Arlo and Peter as they navigate grief and new relationships. It’s a modern coming-of-age with a refreshing take on mental health, parenthood, and acceptance.
The ending is bittersweet, but realistic. I was concerned that the movie was going to take a “parenthood fixes all mental health issues” approach, but Firstman went a different direction. Sure, a child is a good motivator to get your life together, but that urge comes from within Peter. He wants to be better for himself and for Arlo, while still staying true to himself.
My thoughts
When I saw the runtime of this movie was a little over two hours, I was kind of deflated. I thought, “Seriously, what could they possibly have to say that would take up two hours?” Then I walked out of the theater, looked around at my friends, and nearly every face was tear-stained.
Club Kid tells a moving, emotional, and hilarious story. The humor is clever and culturally relevant, and the more poignant moments are well-earned and stirring. Every minute of the movie was needed to deepen a relationship. I could have spent five more hours in that theater with Peter and Arlo, and when I wasn’t laughing, I was crying. No, seriously, I cried five times.
Beyond that, the music choices are brilliant. Between several Cocteau Twins songs, “Thoroughfare” by Ethel Cain, and “CRANK” by Slayyyter, I was always eagerly awaiting the next song.
The editing, direction, and overall story are clever, immersive, and bring these characters to life. The initial 10-year cut was a creative gamble that paid off, and there wasn’t a single unconvincing acting performance.
Maybe most importantly, this movie feels lived-in, as if Peter and his friends existed before the camera started rolling and continued to exist beyond the end credits. Overall, I’m looking forward to what Firstman does next in the world of cinema, but this movie also has me thinking about A24 as a whole.
A24 Fever
Looking at the movies that dominated the box office and culture, it’s easy to notice a trend: A24 films. Between Eternity, The Drama, Backrooms, Primetime, You Can See Everything, and now Club Kid, A24 is everywhere. Their biggest box office hit, Backrooms, had a worldwide box office record for the studio of $400,624,375.
Why is the studio so successful this year? Well, I have a few theories, but first, I just want to acknowledge that A24 has been successful for a while now, with movies like Moonlight (2016), The Florida Project (2017), and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). This studio has consistently been putting out amazing work since its founding in 2012.
Here’s my theory: A24 is in the business of creativity and vulnerability. A24 has the unique ability to capture poignant and relatable experiences and translate them onto the silver screen. As Nicole Kidman would say, we watch A24 to “laugh, to cry, to care.”
With A24 becoming a label synonymous with a stamp of approval, audiences are more drawn to watch these movies. It’s almost like with Disney movies, “Disney” is used as a descriptor of the movie. How do we know a movie is good? Oh, well, because it’s a Disney movie, or in this case, it’s A24. They’re a lesson in how consistently good products pay off in audience trust.
The quality of movies is also an indicator of the benefit of creativity and fresh stories instead of relying on franchises, but it’s a two-way street. When A24 launched a $75 million partnership with Google DeepMind, an AI endeavor, audiences were furious. Some viewed it as a personal betrayal, and some viewed it as the name of the game.
What does the future of this studio look like? I doubt this AI “scandal” is seriously going to have a negative impact on the company. What I am curious about is how audience reactions to the scandal are an indicator of the trust in the studio to be an industry best. Because of the quality of their movies, we trust A24 not to be like other studios.
However, at the end of the day, I think audiences (including myself) are going to have to realize that even though A24 is known for its incredibly human stories, don’t be surprised if future developments with AI become a trend. Still, I know A24 will continue to tug at my heartstrings, just as it did with Club Kid.
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