‘Big Boys,’ ‘Egghead & Twinkie’: When Opposites Don’t Attract

By Laurie Schenden | July 17, 2023

Two features screening at Outfest this weekend are examples of Gen Z films that will resonate with young people, but might also help parents understand how their kids think.

“Big Boys” and “Egghead & Twinkie” were both written by their respective filmmakers based on their teen selves: Corey Sherman, writer-director of “Big Boys,” and Sarah Kambe Holland, writer-director of “Egghead & Twinkie.”

In the current climate where some people believe that blocking LGBTQ history and restricting LGBTQ rights are effective ways to forestall same-sex attractions in young people, it may keep them in the closet for a time, but it’s unlikely to change their minds.

‘Big Boys’

Dan is confident in his own sexuality, and sees Jamie’s crush as a harmless attraction, and doesn’t react in a way that would embarrass or humiliate Jamie.

Both Jamie and Twinkie consider love with the opposite sex for about a minute in their respective films. But we see how their interest is elsewhere, their hearts go aflutter and attention is undivided when their same-sex attractions are near.

It’s apparent that for the main characters in both films, opposites do not attract.

“Big Boys” is told in a traditional storytelling format, offering a thoughtful look at the challenges in Jamie’s life as a chubby gay kid. Jamie (Isaac Krasner) has a sophisticated vocabulary, is big and tall for his age, but emotionally he’s still on par with a 14-year-old who hasn’t quite figured everything out.

Sherman, writer-director of “Big Boys,” said in production notes that he “wanted to showcase the experience of a chubby teen going through this life-altering experience.”

He has only been exposed to a limited definition of masculinity, and fears that by being too obviously femme or queer, he will be perceived as less of a man. It’s for this reason that he develops a ‘straight-passing’ persona and hides his sexuality from the world.”

‘Egghead & Twinkie’

“Egghead & Twinkie” (July 21, DGA 2) has a lot going on, but primarily it’s about a 17-year-old girl (Sabrina Jie-A-Fa) who begs, borrows and steals to get to Texas, where she expects to meet her Insta crush at a dance club. She travels with the help of her bestie Egghead (Louis Tomeo), a neighbor boy she’s known since 4^th grade, who happens to have a secret crush on her.  

lugging around some heavy baggage as an adopted Asian child (she embraces the name Twinkie, after kids said she was yellow on the outside, white on the inside).

So at times she seems mature, and her confidence that she knows what she wants, despite her parents insistence that she’s too young to know, seems reasonable.

But Twinkie doesn’t make the most mature decisions when it comes to chasing the crush she met online. Taking a car without asking, lying to her best friend, making poor choices are impulsive and immature actions that catch up to her later.
 
Holland said she came up with the concept for “Egghead & Twinkie” when she “was fresh out of the closet” at 19.

“I had been reluctant to come out,” she said, “in part because the media had taught me to fear it. In my experience, one of the best ways to overcome fear is through humor, so this film is my earnest attempt to find the comedy in the coming out process without trivializing the struggles that queer people endure to be themselves.

“While our world has become increasingly divided,” she added, “I believe that this project can entertain mainstream audiences while simultaneously advocating for minority representation.”

Both films are authentic, well-told stories that show that young people are going to do what curious, resourceful, sneaky, impulsive young people do.

What their parents want and expect are not always in sync with what they have in mind for themselves.

For Outfest tickets click here.

“Egghead & Twinkie” screens Friday, July 21, 2023, at 5 p.m. Directors Guild of America, Theater

“Big Boys” screens Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 11 a.m., Directors Guild of America, Theater 1