Being a teenager is hard enough anyway, but when your mind starts giving you messages and signals you hadn’t been expecting, it becomes that much harder. This film showcases those difficulties in a simple, yet really well-done, way.
“A teenage boy experiences a sexual awakening when he falls for his cousin’s boyfriend on a family camping trip.”
This is one of those low-budget films that would genuinely be affected negatively by having a huge Hollywood budget. It works so well as a basic story, focusing on the character journey rather than any big flashy moments. The tale being told doesn’t need any effects. It just needs actors who understand their characters, and a writer who knows what they’re doing.
In Big Boys, we get both. The writers clearly understand the emotions they have given the characters in depth. They’ve experienced something similar themselves at some point. Isaac Kresner, as Jamie, takes those emotions and makes them feel so incredibly real. While not facing exactly the same side of this as Jamie, I have very much had a whole life adjusting crush on someone that I definitely shouldn’t.
That’s part of the joy of this film. Whether you are gay or straight, whatever your personal preferences, I honestly believe that everyone will be able to recognise something of themselves within the characters in this film. At some point in our lives, we are all likely to face attraction to people we simply can’t have for whatever reasons.
This is a simply made film that looks and feels low budget, but this isn’t a negative. It feels more real because it is such a character-driven piece that doesn’t rely on the money and the big set pieces. Director Corey Sherman has made a sweet film that identifies and acknowledges the struggles of being an emotional teenager, while not making it overly uncomfortable or unpleasant.
Overall, this is a solid film with a well-written sense of what it needs to be. It looks and feels low-budget, but never feels poorly put together. It’s a solid character-driven piece that should resonate with the majority of people who watch it in one way or another. It’s a 3.5/5 got me, and I hope it does as well as possible.
Icon Film Distribution presents Big Boys in UK cinemas now and on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from 13th October.
A Well-Written and Solid Film
Movie title: Big Boys (2025)
Movie description: A teenage boy's unexpected crush turns a camping trip into a weekend of self-discovery in this heart-warming coming-of-age comedy.
Date published: September 2, 2025
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 30m
Director(s): Corey Sherman
Actor(s): Isaac Krasner, Dora Madison, David Johnson III
Genre: Coming-Of-Age, Comedy, Drama
Summary
Whether you are gay or straight, whatever your personal preferences, I honestly believe that everyone will be able to recognise something of themselves within the characters in this film.
