SUNDANCE 2020 FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW! – I’ve run into these well-meaning people at times. Folks who try so hard not to be racist, that it starts coming off as a little racist. Bless their heart, all you can do is laugh and write about it in a film review.
In Teemu Niukkanen and Antti Toivonen’s short film, Are You Hungry?, a single mother stresses about how to broach the subject with her adopted teenage son about whether or not he is gay. The short opens as she’s sitting in the taxi, that she drives, going over the opening line of her “you can talk to me about anything” speech. While practicing images of nightclubs, naked butts, and round food items flash in her mind.
“…a single mother stresses about how to broach the subject with her adopted teenage son about whether or not he is gay.”
As her son jumps in her cab, he ignores her (like most teens) and is short and abrupt with his answers to her questions like, “are you going to get a job this summer?” or “do you have any ‘friends’?” At home, she tells him how much she likes his rainbow t-shirt. He must be gay…clearly.
Taking matters into her own hands, mom decides to sign her son up on a gay dating app and sets up a date pretending to be him. Indeed, nothing can go wrong…right?
Are You Hungry? is a sweet LGBT-themed comedy of parenting and acceptance. More sweet than comedic, Niukkanen and Toivonen’s short gets right to the point and draws us in immediately to the plight of their protagonist. We connect with her misguided love, and the consequences of her meddling get worse and worse. If you are looking for a light comedy or a parent wondering that…maybe…your… Are You Hungry? is worth a watch.
Are You Hungry? screens at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
"…images of nightclubs, naked butts, and round food items flash in her mind."
