The first words uttered by our lead character Ryan are: “driver, step on it.” No name, no "please", no "if that is possible". The movie was an uphill battle for me from then on. I could not stand him. I mean, when your lead characters CENTRAL development is learning to not be racist, classist, and self-identify as a potato queen (a gay asian man exclusively interested in white men) then you got a lot of work to do to get me back on board. But as it turns out... it actually did the work. Battling these internalised ideas about yourself is what a lot of gay men go through when we live lives in our pervasively patriarchal, neoliberal and heterosexist society. Not all of us break through, not all of us even recognise it. They are ideas I’ve had to battle as a queer person who grew up working class and poor, and are ideas I still grapple with as I approach my mid-30s without substantial savings. Add the intersectional layer of race that Ryan experiences and that discrimination and judgement is further compounded and internalised.

It always frustrates me (in gay media in particular) when you have a romantic relationship between two men who clearly haven’t matured to the point where a serious relationship should be their priority. (SPOILERS) This film actually says, hey, yeah, that’s true: these two are not ready to be together – one is repressed and in the closet, the other only just beginning to remove the shackles of internalised racial and class shame he has been carrying. So while I think the film is pretty middling and the lead character awfully annoying, it ultimately works because it commits to the only ending that a film like this should have: learning to remove those shackles and trying to do better for you and everyone around you. A welcome maturity I wasn’t expecting from the 80 minutes of build-up prior.