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...
The film follows the lives of six legends of the London drag scene: Scottee, Holestar, Pia, Amber, John Sizzle and ringleader Johnny Woo, all at the epicentre of East London’s 90s drag explosion. Driving forces behind the area’s outrageous Gay Bingo parties, Johnny and his friends are shown in a new light, revealing the vulnerability and pain behind the glitz and glam. Scottee has recently found he can only make art about tragedy, recounting youthful liaisons with strangers and the constant fear of the police; Holestar, self-proclaimed tranny with a fanny, coming to terms with disability and the fickleness of supposed friends as she tries to rebuild her career; Amber, transitioning to life as a woman and trying to rebuild her relationship with her dad whilst her friends wander the streets trying to raise money to buy her some breasts. There's talk of AIDS and of aliens, there's drunken laughter at Glastonbury, freeform games of gay bingo and telling the Nazi Pope to fuck off. Life is full of incidents and accidents and the stage helps, for a while. Then there's the fight to be sober, and wondering about what comes afterwards, as they age.
The film's presentation of gender is important. Far from confusing drag with being trans, a common misconception, it illustrates the difference - the fun of dressing up versus the need to be oneself - but it also acknowledges the overlap, the way some people come to understand deeper feelings through what they do on stage. There's room for gender expressions beyond male and female, and for an exploration of the intersection between gender and sexuality that's never preachy, simply observational. In this artificial world there are spaces where it's safe to be real. Scenes in which the characters interact with one another are largely overshadowed by individualistic partying and spotlight performances – their stories are told separately and largely avoid transversal. The result is a film that, while touching and insightful, repeatedly gets in its own way and robs itself of its potential. This is definitely not an area or subject that interests me personally too much, so I am not being really objective in reviewing this, but I can say that for me this documentary did not do much. For most time while watching the film I couldn't have cared less. Just the poster felt a lot more fun and vibrant. (3/10)
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