The Rectangular View

The Story:

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a gay coming of age musical based on real life events, adapted from the stage musical of the same name.

Max Harwood plays Jamie New, a sixteen-year-old gay boy living in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Although Jamie is an out and proud homosexual at school, he’s not out about his desire to become a drag queen. Not even to his only friend , Pritti Pasha, a Muslim girl who is often made fun for wearing a hijab.

Jamie and Pritti are outsiders who support each other. Pritti’s character isn’t explored past her religious identity and that she wants to become a doctor, but Jamie needs someone his age for support and the character of Pretti does just that.

Jamie also has support from his loving mother, Margaret (Sarah Lancashire), and her best friend, Ray (Shobna Gulati). Through conversations between Margaret and Ray we find out about Jaimie’s estranged father and how Margaret sends Jamie cards in his father’s name so Jamie won’t know that his father wants nothing to do with him. Ray suggests that it would better if Margaret tell Jamie the truth about his father, but Margaret doesn’t want to see him get hurt.

For Jamie’s sixteenth birthday, Margaret buys him the red pair of sparkling high heel shoes that Jamie has been saving for. Jamie is thrilled, puts them on and sashays around the backyard. The next day he shows Pritti the shoes and confesses that he wants to be a drag queen. He comes across a drag store via an internet search, House of Loco, and brings Pritti with him to find a dress to wear with the shoes.

Hugo (Richard E. Grant), the shop owner and drag queen Miss Loco Chanelle, takes Jamie under his wing. Through Hugo we get a bit of gay history and what it means to be a drag queen. Hugo gets Jamie his first drag show and supports him when Jaimie says he wants to attend his prom in drag.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie culminates with the question, will Jamie go to prom in drag?

Final Thoughts:

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie lacks a true antagonist, so the stakes never feel high for Jaimie. There is the school bully, Dean Paxton (Samuel Bottomley), who goes out of his way to make trouble for Jaimie, but he never feels menacing enough to be a threat.

The musical numbers are fun toe tappers, the story moves at a decent clip, and the acting overall is good. The visuals are fun and go with the feel of the film. Although I did enjoy Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a villain would have given it a more fulfilling ending.