F.L.Y.

F.L.Y. is a dramatic comedy about two exes, Max (Trent Kendrick) and Rafael (Rafael Albarran), who get stuck together at the onset of the Covid pandemic after not seeing each other for years. Rafael comes to L.A. for work, just as Max is house-sitting for some friends who are off for a vacation. When COVID hits, Rafael must stay in quarantine with Max, while Max’s boyfriend, Hunter (Alexeev Dismuke), has to leave for a prior obligation.

There are many complications and tensions, and all of that is amped up exponentially by the compressed bubble of COVID constraints. Max and Hunter are conservative, quiet gay men. Rafael is the party animal drag queen who pushes the other two to a more effusive expression of life, to the dance beat of Latin club tracks. At one point, when Rafael is perfecting their drag outfit, Max comments on how sharp the outfit is, saying, “If I was straight, I’d probably be into you.” The idea of Rafael being non-binary is new for Max, too, and he must adjust.

In a pivotal scene, Max rolls out of an epic makeup-smeared hangover to face the consequences of a drug-fueled night spent in drag where he and Rafael had sex. Rafael is polyamorous, but Max and Hunter are practicing monogamy. Max’s version of hell ensues as Rafael leaves and a sequence of events occurs that finds him alone, shopping in a grocery store in a unicorn onesie. This day brings him a triple shot of reality. His close friend Denae (Shea Diamond) pulls him through the dark times. Max has some hard facts to face and changes to make.

“… two exes who get stuck together at the onset of the Covid pandemic …”

F.L.Y. is not a stylized fable, but rather a real look at the lives of the characters with all their glories, past traumas, and flaws. A revelatory moment comes when Hunter asks Rafael why “they” is their chosen pronoun. The LGBTQ culture exists in multivariate flavors and colors, and even within the circle there are shocks and revelations. It is a constantly flowing tapestry of information and self-discovery. The film comes full circle when we see the title of the screenplay Max has finally finished writing.

Albarrán and Kendrick wrote and directed, as well as starring in the feature. They set out to honor the kinetic lifestyle and diversity that characterizes the queer community. While authentic relationship problems are explored, overall, the story is infused with fun and energy. The title is explained in the closing credits. It is worth waiting for.

In an interview with Instinct magazine, Albarrán and Kendrick said, “We dreamed up a movie we wished we could watch, a queer romantic comedy that helps us remember to laugh and love where you are. A film that shows us there are opportunities for healing when you pause and look inside.”

We know that shared joy is doubled and shared pain is halved. The viewer will live that in this film, which is a nearly pitch-perfect explosion of joy and pain. Whether you are gay, straight, or some gradient of other, this is a journey you will want to take, and you will leave F.L.Y.  having met beautiful souls and feeling better about the world.