Club Kid

A heartwarming charmer about a queer party animal who suddenly discovers he has a ten-year-old son.

It’s always exciting when new talent enters the film world, especially when a first-time director hits the mark on their debut. With CLUB KID, Jordan Firstman has achieved what Charlotte Wells did with AFTERSUN: creating a surprising and moving first film that people will be talking about for years to come. Firstman stars as Peter, a gay club promoter who has seen better days. His party habits from his twenties have stuck around as he approaches forty, and his appetite for party drugs has long since reached self-destructive proportions. When the ten-year-old son he never knew he had suddenly turns up at his door, Peter has to learn what it means to live for someone other than himself.

CLUB KID is a life-affirming charmer that shows how care and consideration can heal all wounds. It’s also a fresh buddy comedy that strikes a chord with millennials. Harder socioeconomic circumstances than those faced by previous generations can make it difficult for this age group to enter adulthood, leaving many stuck in a kind of Peter Pan existence (the main character’s name is no coincidence). Director Firstman’s aim, however, is less to judge the protagonist and those in a similar situation than to portray how caring for others can teach you to care for yourself.

Review text courtesy of Bergen internasjonale filmfestival (https://www.biff.no/f/club-kid/5931)