A Revry original, Unconventional is a really well-liked queer dramedy that feels totally different from the usual stuff. The heart of the story is about two pretty eccentric queer siblings and their partners trying to build a family that doesn't follow the traditional rules. It takes a super raw and unfiltered look at queer life, diving deep into things like mental health, addiction, and how complicated identity and relationships can get. It’s not afraid to get messy or show people at their most vulnerable, and it really pushes boundaries while showing a lot of different queer experiences. The first season has nine episodes, and each one is about a half-hour long. The story centers on Noah, a grad student who’s been struggling for years to wrap up his PhD. He’s been with his husband, Dan, for nine years, and they’ve recently gotten married and moved to Palm Springs. While they're trying to figure out how to start a family and have a baby, they decide to shake things up by in...
Russell, a wannabe drag queen, breaks up with his boyfriend of many years and moves to the rustic countryside to be with his grandma. She has been living alone by herself and is absolutely against the idea of old age home. Initially Russell's plan is to take borrow her car but something makes him stay. In the only gay bar of the area, he makes some friends and starts doing drag for some money. He slowly starts to fall for one of the bartenders and their relationship is a bit all over the place. When Russell's mother shows up, she is aghast by the idea of her son taking care of the mother but eventually realizes. It seems at some point Russell wanted to be an actor and everyone around him had been very supportive but the drag scene is not working for many. Russell himself is not very sure. His relations with his grandma improves daily who is more than happy to have someone by her side. The end is weird where Russell moves back to the city to pursue his dream of drag and the grandma is left to die alone in her ballet shoes, a tribute that Russell gives to her in his performance too.
Russell is trying to struggle to find his place in the world by revisiting his past, and almost trying to create a do-over. He plans to initially get some money from his grandma quickly turns to taking care of her and loving her. Also the budding romance feels like a fresh start but is not very clear what's the nature of it. It felt toxic in the brief scenes that I saw. There are a lot of drag sequences where Russell is lip synching to the songs. So for viewers who enjoy it, this could be a hoot but for me, it was literally a drag. Performance wise, I felt Russell was a bit rusty initially but eventually I started to warm up. The grandma was definitely the soul of the film. I actually also enjoyed the mother's character who was always supportive of her son. Film is very simple and straight forward at the core but fails to make an impression or give a message. The erroneous ending doesn't help the cause either. (5/10)
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