What to Watch This Weekend: Orange Years, Higher Love, Run, Leap of Faith, Last Vermeer, Dating Amber, Over the Moon, The Secret

For That 90s Nostalgia - The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story (Digital)

The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story had me revisiting my childhood, with plenty of clips, insights, information, and enough slime to remind me why this network played such an important part of my young life!  For more information, check out the review!

For A Window Into Addiction - Higher Love (Digital)

Higher Love is an unfiltered, raw, and emotional look at the effect of drugs and addiction on an American family and all the highs and lows that come from that.  For more information, check out our review!

For The Thriller Fans - Run (Hulu)

Run has some fantastic performances by Paulson and Allen in a tense, psychological thriller that will have you holding your breath and your heart rate running.   For more information, check out our review!

For The Horror Fans - Leap of Faith (Shudder)

Leap of Faith is a fascinating and frank dialog about one of the most influential films ever made, with wonderful insights and amazingly honest critiques from the director.  For more information, check out our review!

For The History Buffs - The Last Vermeer (Theaters)

The Last Vermeer is a work of historical art, with meticulously crafted characters, an attention to historical detail, and a mystery that slowly reveals itself with each story brushstroke.  For more information, check out our review!

For Those Looking For Identity - Dating Amber (Digital)

Dating Amber is a quirky, funny, and heartfelt story of love, sexuality, and identity that puts a new twist on the queer coming of age tale.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Kids - Over the Moon (Netflix)

Over the Moon is out of this world amazing, with beautiful animation, classic Disney influences, catchy musical numbers, and a lunar adventure that kids and adults will learn from and love.  For more information, check out our review!

For The Romantics - The Secret: Dare to Dream (Redbox)

The movie that stars Katie Holmes and follows a woman looking to follow their dreams, this film has a very high viewer score and is now available at Redbox!

Dating Amber Review: A Quirky, Funny, and Heartfelt Queer Coming of Age Film

Release date: November 10, 2020
Running time: 92 minutes
Starring: Fionn O'Shea, Lola Petticrew, Sharon Horgan 
Written and Directed By: David Freyne

A closeted gay teen and his lesbian counterpart pretend to be a couple to avoid suspicion.  Eddie (O'Shea) is trying to live in his father's military shadow, hoping to follow in his footsteps while avoiding his own desires.  And in order to avoid suspicion and harassment about his lack of a love life, he starts "dating" Amber (Petticrew), a lesbian who is less closeted but also trying to grow into her personality and dreams.  Together, the two embark on a fake relationship that will help them discover themselves.  

Dating Amber has a wonderful charm and muted style.  The film takes place in a small town in Ireland where being different is frowned upon, and being queer will make you a social pariah.  Additionally, Eddie's parents are supportive, but his dad is oblivious and his mom is loving, but not outspoken about her son's clear homosexual tendencies.  This leads to a character who is trying to fit his square personality into a round hole, and dealing with the pain that shaving off those corners and denying their existance will do.  The characters are really fantastic in this movie.  O'Shea is absolutely wonderful and believable as Eddie, and it was interesting to see a character who is so clearly queer but trying to deny it to himself.  The internal struggle that Eddie goes through leads to some laughs, some tears, and some very dramatic scenes as he comes to grips with himself and his place in the world.  And that is helped along by Petticrew's amazing performance as Amber.  Whereas Eddie is denying who he is, Amber is more sure of herself and where she wants to go.  But together, the two find the comfort and companionship that they have both been looking for but not finding in their small town.  And they also are able to grow together.  The movie has really fantastic, heartfelt acting with characters that truly feel like awkward teens growing into their own.

Dating Amber not only has fantastic characters, it has a wonderfully written story.  The writing is clever and sharp, with plenty of callbacks to old ideas of sexuality and love.  There are some really amazing scenes, including a vintage sex education video that, according to writer and director David Freyne, was a reproduction of something that he was shown as a kid.  The lines are pointed with plenty of humor and heart, and help move this story along.  And the whole film has a wonderful, muted style that is perfect for this film.  Everything is a little drab, except for certain scenes that really help to emphasize the way that neither Eddie or Amber fit into this world.  And the use of colors is perfect, with certain characters wearing clothes that definitely clash with the general monotony of the small town.  Dating Amber also has a wonderfully funny take on the high school experience, with a certain sense of cynical humor that shines through.  Eddie and Amber's journey of discovery and growth is an innocent and charming one, and you can see their natural chemistry shine through in this film.  And when the film tries to tackle the two finding themselves and becoming confident in who they are, the movie stretches its dramatic chops.  When the story goes that way, the film showcases some serious drama and heart as the two painfully discover who they are and what they really want.  

Dating Amber is a quirky, funny, and heartfelt story of love, sexuality, and identity that puts a new twist on the queer coming of age tale.

Watch it.

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Dating Amber is available digitally and on demand November 10, 2020.

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