2024 Entry #42 04-14-24 “Please Baby Please” is a 2022 American musical drama film directed by Amanda Kramer, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noel David Taylor. It stars Andrea Riseborough (“Black Mirror”), Harry Melling (“The Old Guard”), Karl Glusman (“Stonewall”, “Nocturnal Animals”), openly non-binary Ryan Simpkins (“A Single Man”, the “Fear Street” trilogy), openly sexually fluid Jake Choi (“Front Cover”, “EastSiders”), openly non-binary Cole Escola (“Nurse Jackie”, “What We Do in the Shadows”, “Big Mouth”), Jaz Sinclair (“The Boys” / “Gen V”) and Demi Moore (“The Butcher’s Wife”, “Ellen”, “Will & Grace”).
Wow. That was interesting. My reaction during the film was that it felt like an odd crossing between David Lynch, John Waters and Bruce LaBruce. The film plays with gender, perception, sexuality and wraps it all up in greaser chic. Amanda Kramer and Noel David Taylor wrote the screenplay in 2018; Kramer has said that she was able to convince producers to finance the film by calling it “the gay West Side Story,” which Kramer described as “a lie” and “a Halloween trick”. I paused the film to get something to eat and my partner asked me what I was watching; I expressed interest in a certain event happening by the end of the movie – and without spoiling it – I got what I wanted. I’m not sure if it was great or not, but I was entertained. The only part I disliked featured the death of a character, which felt out of place, even if it was meant to highlight something or lead to something else later in the film; I had issues with it, but not enough for it to completely ruin my experience.
“Please Baby Please” won the 2022 Outfest Grand Jury Award for North American Narrative Feature and was named one of the “10 Best Unsung LGBTQ Films of 2022” by GALECA. The film also received a 2023 Queerty nomination for best Indie Movie.