Seventeen-year-old preacher’s kid Henry Gamble has a birthday pool party and the guests include adults and teenagers from his church, as well as Henry’s secular friends, including young Logan who has eyes for Henry. As the day turns to night, Henry and company carefully navigate the religious strictures held within the community.
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015)
imdb user:
I watched this on Netflix as a lark. I was quite surprised to find it both enjoyable and meaningful. It is atypical of gay-content films as a genre. The ‘gay’ is more ‘by the way’ than ‘hey, Mary”.
Really liked the beginning and end. Cole Doman’s face holds all the innocence of a somewhat pampered and conflicted middle class boy his age. The contrast between Henry and Logan, the awkward and out gay boy, is well done. The balance provided by smart-ass lesbian characters is not overplayed. The contrast between the twisted lives of the adults and the openness of the youngsters is also well written. The way Henry’s older sister acts out that contrast is quite good.
This film is outstanding for its quiet subtlety about religious bias and its constriction of human vision and compassion. It unfolds gently with the exception of a slightly contrived crisis involving an ostracized gay man. I recommend it to non-religious people (like me) who may lump all religious folks into a single category.
