Big Time Adolescence

Written and Directed by Jason Orley

Rating: 🔥 that’s hot

Zeke (Pete Davidson) is a 23 year old stoner who peaked in high school. When he and his girlfriend break up he remains friends with her younger brother Mo (Griffin Gluck) and finds that his maturity level is a perfect fit for a friendship with a 16 year old. Mo’s family worries that Zeke’s lack of ambition and illicit hobbies will be a bad influence on Mo, and this eventually comes to fruition when Mo begins selling drugs at parties. Mo is forced to reevaluate his friendship with Zeke and decide if this is a friendship that he would like to continue, or if he has outgrown his older friend and needs to move on.

This movie is an indie slow burn coming of age story. It brought me right back to high school/college and reminded me of how challenging it can be to find your place and discover who you are. Pete Davidson delivers an authentic performance as a guy who was cool in high school, but lost those cool points when he never grew up. His dynamic with Griffin Gluck on screen is great and you can see why their friendship works even though their characters are so wildly different. It might seem like a 23 year old “man” (he’s really more of a child than anyone in this movie) befriending a boy so much younger than himself could come across as creepy, but it doesn’t. Their dynamic is more of an older brother, younger brother situation and you can see how they mutually benefit from the friendship. If you see Pete Davidson and think, this must be a comedy, I have to warn you that it’s really more of a drama. Overall I had a good time with this movie, and it’s now streaming on Hulu.

Review written by Zianna Weston