The 'Film Bro' Reality Check
Most coming-of-age movies about 'misfit' kids tend to romanticize their quirks. I Like Movies does the opposite. It looks at Lawrence Kweller—a kid who wants to go to NYU, thinks he's the next big thing, and treats his best friend like a second-class citizen—and says, 'Hey, this kid is actually kind of a nightmare.'
That honesty is what makes it so good. For a teen who feels like an outsider, seeing a protagonist who is wrong is incredibly valuable. It moves the conversation from 'the world doesn't understand me' to 'how am I treating the people who are actually trying to be there for me?'
Why the 2003 Setting Matters
By setting this in 2003, director Chandler Levack captures the last gasp of physical media culture. The video store isn't just a backdrop; it's a community hub with rules and hierarchies. For modern kids who have every movie ever made at their fingertips on a phone, seeing the labor of hunting down a DVD or arguing with a clerk adds a layer of 'literacy' to the history of how we consume stories.
Dealing with the Heavy Stuff
While the movie is funny, it carries a heavy backpack. The 'complicated friendship' with his manager, Alana, isn't a romance—it’s a collision between a kid who thinks he knows everything and an adult who has lived through real pain. The revelation of Lawrence’s family history explains his behavior without excusing it, which is a sophisticated needle for a movie to thread.
If you have a kid who is into filmmaking or just spends a lot of time in their own head, this is a must-watch. Just be prepared for some awkward silence afterward when they realize they might have a little Lawrence Kweller in them.
