Straight Up
Although there were many films I liked a lot, thirteen to be exact, the one that stuck with me the most was Straight Up. Straight Up is my favorite because it shows a different kind of romantic comedy that I haven’t watched before. It is about an asexual man (Todd) that is also gay, but he tries to ignore his true feelings so that he can stay with the other main character who is a woman (Rory). Throughout the film, he goes to therapy a few times, to help cope with his OCD about bodily fluids and troubles with his interpersonal relationships. His therapist suggests he might be straight if he is unable to have sex with a man, so he begins to romance Rory. Right before they meet, Rory reveals to an acting group that she is a victim of sexual assault. This revelation explains her actions through the rest of the film. She starts off just like Todd where neither of them wants sex, but as she recovers from her trauma, she begins to want sex again. This difference between them leads them into different directions, but ultimately ends with a happy ending that is minorly confusing.
Even though I absolutely fell in love with this film, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge its flaws. The first flaw in my eyes, is the therapist. Although the film did not make her role an entire joke, it definitely ignored some boundaries that are normally in place between a therapist and their patient. The lack of professionalism led to some humorous parts, but it made me not respect the therapist’s position in the slightest. Normally I would give the therapist the benefit of the doubt for not knowing what asexuality is, but due to the other characteristics of her, I have a hard time letting it go. She also labeled him as OCD for bodily fluids, but the only time his OCD is highlighted in the film is when he turns off the light three times before leaving it off, then he stands facing the wall until the scene cuts away. For the rest of the film, that single scene gets ignored which is obviously an issue because he is “cured” at the end of the movie. How can someone be cured if their mental health relies solely on another person? He may act differently at the end of the film, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be learning better coping mechanisms still. Another problem I have with the film is Todd’s friends. They are so rude towards Todd and Rory for most of the film. I understand that these kinds of friendships are horribly common in life, but when they always send Rory and Todd home feeling worse about themselves, it just reinforces a flawed concept of friendship.
Although I was able to dedicate an entire paragraph to the flaws in the film that I noticed, there were many positive aspects to the film as well. Although the sense of humor changes in tone throughout the film, it remains funny nonetheless. Before Rory meets Todd for the first time, her sense of humor is incredibly dark and cynical. She makes fun of rape as a way to cope with her experience, but it is not taken well by the people around her. After meeting Todd, there is a whole scene dedicated to trying to make the other laugh by the use of mannerisms and tone of voice. This scene marks the beginning of Rory’s growth and she slowly begins to rely on her original sense of humor less and less as the film progresses. I appreciate the usage of jokes, because it highlights the growth of the characters through the film.
Another aspect I genuinely enjoyed would be the realistic take on their relationship. When they meet in the library for the first time, they don’t automatically know that the other one is perfect for them. Todd and Rory have to suffer through some awkward conversations before it clicks that they could at least get to know each other. After the library scene, there is a montage of them spending an incredibly long chunk of time together just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Their first problem relationship-wise are Todd’s friends. His friends do not believe it can last at all, so they spend the entire movie trying to break them up. The first party they host, Todd’s best friend mentions how Todd gave some dude a blow job because she knew it would start a fight. However, Todd and Rory go home and discuss what happened and their relationship becomes stronger. They talked through if sex was even important to their relationship. Although Todd’s friends constantly try to hinder their relationship, it kept backfiring because it made Rory and Todd realize how much they had in common. The only time it is too much is when Rory completely overcomes her trauma and wants to have sex again, but that is healthy. Todd then plans an elaborate display of affection to win her back, but thankfully the movie doesn’t let them get back together. Their relationship became strictly platonic after that because they acknowledged that they didn’t have to leave each other’s life, they just couldn’t date each other.
I appreciated how the movie was realistic all while giving real representation to people who are asexual - a group that is often ignored within the queer community. On top of representation, the film didn’t portray the sexuality as wrong or anything. Todd ended the movie without having to give up that piece of him to keep her around. Although the ending was confusing because there was a man with Todd and Rory, but it never got explained if he was either of their boyfriends or both of theirs.
