Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is based on the stage musical of the same name and follows 16-year-old Jamie New (Max Harwood), an openly gay kid who aspires to be a drag artist. To begin with, it’s a lofty goal, even before you consider the probable hatred he will confront from the local community. Jamie lives in Sheffield with his single mother Margaret (Sarah Lancashire), who supports her kid, but her former husband and Jamie’s father does not, which Margaret desperately attempts to hide by covering for him and pretending he’s sent notes, gifts, and so on.

The film explores a variety of highly relatable issues, including identity, family, dreams, and friendship, all of which create who we are as individuals and are crucial to our total identity. Jamie has no intention of fitting in with his friends and is frequently bullied by his classmates and berated by teachers, which he manages to overcome. He’s a mostly confident man at first, but it’s clear he has some underlying issues, and Max Harwood expertly portrays his intricacies as we learn more about him.

With the assistance of his best friend Pritti Pasha (Lauren Patel), a bashful girl with aspirations of becoming a doctor, he quickly decides he wants to study the art of drag and even go so far as to wear a dress to prom. It’s a risky decision, but he plunges in and goes to a small store that sells gorgeous clothes. Jamie encounters shop owner and former drag artist Hugo Battersby (Richard E Grant), who used to go by the stage name Loco Channelle. He offers to mentor Jamie after remembering about some of his best memories, and she eventually agrees.

I can’t compare the film to the stage musical because I haven’t seen it, but the songs and choreography featured in this version of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie were solid though not as memorable as you’d expect from a film like this. They’re still catchy and terribly cheesy, but let’s face it, that’s why you’re seeing a movie like this. It’s meant to be quirky and a little out of the ordinary, which is why it works so well. All of the main characters are given the opportunity to express themselves via song, with some performances being stronger than others (Grant and Harwood stood out to me the most).

Despite the fact that it oversimplifies several aspects, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is an important film. With the LGBT+ community still under-represented in the media, it’s critical to share tales like this and provide hope to people who are dealing with their own identities. It’s not easy for Jamie either, as he frequently struggles to distinguish himself from his drag person Mimi Me, who is far more confident and capable of conquering the world. At one point, his attachment to Mimi puts him into difficulty, teaching him valuable lessons about appreciating both aspects of his nature.

It’s primarily a feel-good film, but there are some disturbing components that must be shown. Jamie’s father has consistently rejected him, never genuinely giving him a chance, and some of the lads at school attend his drag show solely to heckle him. It raises some interesting questions about how we regard masculinity and femininity, as well as how destructive stereotypes may be. Why wouldn’t you sympathize with Jamie, as the film clearly wants you to? His character is full of life and fire, and you want him to achieve his ambitions, no matter how far-fetched they may be.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a film full of promise, and it’s the type of feel-good picture that’s easy to get caught up in. Jamie’s narrative is compelling; you’re rooting for him the entire time, and it’s a lesson in why it’s so vital to embrace and support those around you. It has its ridiculous moments, but overall, it’s a film that many of us will be able to relate to in some manner.