Reviews for November 6th, 2026
In Club Kid, Peter (Jordan Firstman) works as a gay party promoter in NYC. One day, his 10-year-old son, Arlo (Reggie Absolom), whom he didn't know that he had, arrives on his doorstep, and decides to take care of him. Cara Delevingne plays Sophie, Peter's former business partner who's also a party animal. Colleen Camp plays Evelyn, his neighbor who agrees to let his deadbeat friend, Nicky (Eldar Isgandarov), stay at her apartment. Diego Calva plays Oscar, Arlo's social worker who's also Peter's love interest. Writer/director Jordan Firstman has made a captivating, funny and genuinely heartfelt father-son story. Peter comes across as a hot mess who's trying his best to be a good father and to quit his partying lifestyle, a task that's easier said than done while living in the fast lane and even going to the extent of selling drugs. He's likable, though, despite his flaws. The scenes with him and Arlo bonding together are often sweet and tender without being cloying, and also quite hilarious, e.g. when Peter tries to find a shirt for Arlo to wear that doesn't have dirty humor on it. To be fair, his romance with Arlo's social worker, Oscar, feels somewhat contrived and makes the plot feel somewhat overstuffed, but that's a minor issue in an otherwise heartwarming, honest and engaging dramedy that sees and treats its characters as human beings, warts-and-all, without asking the audience to judge them.
Jordan Firstman gives a natural and moving performance while handling the complexity of his role effectively. The stand-out, though, is the child actor Reggie Absolom who gives a breakthrough performance as Arlo. He's a very talented young actor, so hopefully Club Kid will put him on the map like About a Boy did for Nicholas Hoult. The cinematography, editing and use of music are all solid without becoming distracting or excessive. Please keep in mind that there's a lengthy club scene with stroboscopic lights that might make some audience members feel nauseous. At a running time of 2 hours and 2 minutes, Club Kid opens in select theaters via A24. It's one of the best directorial debuts of the year.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), a high school student living with her single mother, Barbara (Tara Mallen), struggles to cope with the death of her best friend, Callie (Chloe Coleman), and forms an unlikely bond with Callie's grieving mother, Helen (Sophie Okonedo), in Mouse. She also develops a romance with Kat (Iman Vellani), a girl who works at a video store. Writer/director Kelly O'Sullivan and co-director Alex Thompson have made a warm, tender, bittersweet, honest and funny coming-of-age movie. It doesn't break new ground or have any big surprises, but it feels engrossing and true-to-life without being cloying, clunky or contrived. Barbara isn't an awful mother though because she's trying her best, but she's emotionally neglectful. When she overhears Minnie's phone conversation with Kat and learns that they're planning to become romantically involved with each other, it leads to a scene that's funny when Minnie confronts her about whether or not she was eavesdropping. Kudos to the filmmakers for seeing and treating every character as a complex and flawed human being which makes them more relatable. Minnie isn't completely likable because she misbehaves, but she's just emotionally immature and not mean-spirited. The true heart and soul of the film, though, can be found in the friendship between Minnie and Helen who becomes like a surrogate mother at times. The way she treats Minnie respectfully while setting boundaries with her shows her compassion and empathy---interestingly Helen is the much more emotionally mature and sane version of the villain in Wildwood who's also grieving her child.
Katherine Mallen Kupferer gives a convincingly moving performance as does Sophie Okonedo and Tara Mallen in their supporting roles. Kupferer has a particularly powerful scene where Minnie confronts her mother in her car about how she truly feels about her parenting. To be fair, the film does drag a little toward the end of the second act, but the natural performance helps to keep it from becoming lethargic. It's also worth mentioning that the third act earns its uplift and emotional catharsis. At a running time of 2 hours, Mouse---not to be confused with the psychological crime thriller of the same title from two months ago---opens in select theaters before expanding nationwide on November 13th, 2026 via Independent Film Company.
Number of times I checked my watch: 2
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