Copyright Variety
Though published just five years ago, North Carolina author Mason Deaver’s debut novel “I Wish You All The Best” is already a frequent presence on banned-book lists, as its affirming portrait of a teen’s emerging nonbinary identity seems readymade for modern culture-war scolds. Otherwise, it’s been very well received — as should be Tommy Dorfman’s film adaptation, the writer-director’s first feature. The pleasant, polished drama provides a compassionate take on a high schooler undergoing considerable change, its only debit being the arguably too-neat depiction of that transitional circumstance. But then, as a sort of YA movie, from a YA tome, it is primarily in the business of reassuring viewers, rather than scaring them with worse possible scenarios. Lionsgate is opening last year’s SXSW discovery in theaters nationwide on Nov. 7. Introduced shaving off the bare trace of a mustache in a bathroom mirror, Ben (Corey Fogelmanis) is soon screwing up courage to tell their conservative evangelical parents (played by Judson Mills and “Transparent” vet Amy Landecker), “I want to talk to y’all about something.” That the pair do not take it well is immediately evidenced by the 16-year-old finding getting booted onto the streets in freezing weather, sans shoes or jacket. In desperation, Ben calls their older sister Hannah (Alexandra Daddario), despite scant contact since she got thrown out of the family home years prior. Now she lives in a nearby town with husband Thomas (Cole Sprouse), a high school chemistry teacher, and their newborn first child. Distraught Ben is welcomed into that home, accepting the blurted explanation “I came out to them, they freaked” to mean her little bro is gay. It takes a while — plus a first, bullying attempt at reconnection by their parents — to suss that the issue is something different, perhaps more complex. “I don’t even know who I am … being nonbinary makes me feel like nothing and everything all at once,” Ben tells another empathetic adult, Ms. Lyons (Lena Dunham), the art teacher at the new school where Ben also finds quick acceptance from self-identified cool kids Nathan (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), Sophie (Lisa Yamada) and Meleika (Lexi Underwood). More, Nathan soon promotes himself to the position of first-ever boyfriend for Ben — or non-gender-specific “B,” as they decide to be called henceforth. Set in a comfy suburbia, with no evidence of hostility or bias among peers in the protagonist’s new abode, “I Wish” does seem at times a bit heavy on wish-fulfillment. Nathan and everyone else here is ideally supportive; the sole negativity comes from the parents, who come off as rather one-dimensional caricatures of glint-eyed intolerance in their few scenes. Otherwise, the only source of significant conflict is internal, and that is not dramatized very vividly by either actor-turned-maker Dorfman or her star, who’s best known for a recurring role on the sitcom “Girl Meets World.” Fogelmanis’ B. grows peevish, snippy and resentful, testing viewer patience even as everyone around them is exceptionally patient. This moodiness shouldn’t surprise anyone at that age, considering the teen’s suddenly altered life circumstances. But the film could have done a better job making those emotional waves relatable, perhaps lending them some humor instead of a seriousness that lacks inquiring depth. External changes of increasingly androgynous dress and makeup are granted more detailed emphasis than the workings of B’s mind. Since nearly all the subsidiary figures gamely orbit that mercurial headspace, offering encouragement and sympathetic ears, “I Wish You All the Best” can feel like a glorified one-person show in which the principal is nonetheless a mite underdeveloped. It’s bracing when Brian Michael Smith, as a senior-center supervisor, delivers a tart speech informing derelict part-time worker B. that the entire world doesn’t revolve around their often sulky, withdrawn disposition. The film could have used more such moments of sharper insight for both protagonist and spectator. Still, Fogelmanis holds central focus strongly enough in most respects, and the supporting cast generally adds relaxed credibility to their parts. (An exception is the normally expert Dunham, who strains for effect in a contrived fairy-godmother-type role.) Dorfman lends the whole an attractive look and smooth pace. No design elements compel particular notice, but their combination lands a couple notches safely above the telegenically bland.
