'I Wish You All the Best': A Well-Meaning, But Flawed Teen Drama

PHOTO: Lionsgate

Representation is important when it comes to media, as being able to watch a film or a TV show and see someone who looks, acts, or feels similar to oneself is an affirming experience. As more and more people find the understanding of their own identities, we have seen an uptick in diverse stories across media. This is a net good, as it helps others feel more connected to the media they view and potentially better understand themselves. But while more media featuring people from underrepresented groups is a positive, it doesn’t always guarantee that the films or shows that feature them are going to be good. This is sadly the case with I Wish You All the Best, a drama about a non-binary teen learning to accept their identity. Based on the book by Mason Deaver, the film acts as a coming-of-age tale that is geared for a teen audience. While I am all for the story being told and the fact that it is directed and written by a trans filmmaker, the film itself feels like an after-school special and has a mid-2000s dramedy vibe that comes across as disingenuous. In terms of representation, I am glad that this could potentially help young people better understand their own identities, but as a film, it is rather dull and derivative.

At the beginning of the film, Ben de Backer (Corey Fogelmanis) comes out to his parents as non-binary and is kicked out of their home. They contact their estranged older sister, Hannah (Alexandra Daddario), and move in with her and her husband Thomas (Cole Sprouse). After enrolling in a new school, Ben forms a bond with a student named Nathan (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) and the two begin to develop feelings for each other. Ben also connects with their eccentric art teacher, Ms. Lyons (Lena Dunham), who mentors them and helps them make sense of their identity. Through the rest of the film Ben slowly begins to accept their identity, and finds a circle of people who love and support them.

There is no doubt that this film was made with the best of intentions, as writer/director Tommy Dorfman sought to make a film that strayed from cliche and celebrated queerness amidst our current political landscape. The film does mostly succeed in this, but it feels a bit artificial at times. This is mainly due to the YA bent of the film (which is adapted from the , which makes the film come across as corny and trite. I understand that I am not the target audience for this film, and younger viewers may connect better to it than I did, but it does feel like it is borrowing from other coming-of-age movies and it lays on the sentimentality and quirkiness a bit thick. I get that the film is wanting to spark hope and joy, but it rings a bit false when it is delivered in a way that recalls other, better films like it. 

Dorfman also wanted to avoid the usual tropes of queer coming-of-age stories, and she mostly sticks the landing on this. Plotwise, the film mostly follows Ben’s journey and has frank conversations about gender identity, relationships, and self-acceptance. However, the film still has to touch on Ben’s relationship with their religious parents, which is easily the most cliched part of the film. At first, it looks as if the film is going to completely skip over Ben coming out to their parents, which would have been an inspired choice. In the opening scene, we see the lead-up to Ben telling their parents they are non-binary, but the film cuts to black before they tell them. We pick back up after Ben has been kicked out, and the plot continues to move forward. I was perfectly fine with the film jumping over the coming out scene, as we have seen many versions of it before and viewers can fill in the blanks pretty easily given that Ben gets thrown out of their home. But the film ends up flashing back to Ben’s coming out and their parents’ reactions to it. There could have been a better way to do this than just showing us the scene, as the film just plays it out in full. This moment is very heavy-handed and really leans into the after-school special energy the film tends to have. While disapproving parents and being kicked out are sad realities for many queer teens, this moment feels out of place and unneeded in the overall film. A later scene where Ben’s parents are trying to reconnect with them at a restaurant is slightly better, but is still tinged with some of the same melodrama that the coming out scene has. I appreciate that the film still shows some of the challenges that young non-binary people face, but it unfortunately comes across a bit hamfisted.

Much of the film hinges on Corey Fogelmanis’s performance, and he shows some promise here. I was unfamiliar with him prior to watching this film, but he makes for a good lead. Ben is an introspective character, which can be hard to play, but Fogelmanis portrays it well. A lot of the characters are a bit heightened, but Ben is very realistic, helping us connect with them and giving their story some heart. Fogelmanis does a great job of bringing Ben to life, and he has some serious potential as a performer.

When I saw that Cole Sprouse and Lena Dunham were in this, I assumed that I would like the former’s performance and dislike the latter’s. To my surprise, my reactions were flipped. Despite some charm, Sprouse feels out of his element and unconvincing. His character in the film is a chemistry teacher and father, but he comes across too youthful and breezy to fit the role. It is a bland performance that doesn’t add much of anything to the film, and is easily one of the worst things about it. Dunham is more or less tapping into her usual schtick, but it works well here. Considering that she is playing an art teacher with a tendency to overshare, this role is right in her wheelhouse. She plays a minor role, sure, but she is a great foil for Ben, and not too bad as the film’s comic relief. 

I can see what I Wish You All the Best is going for, but I can’t help but want more from it. It is an okay coming-of-age movie, but it hardly feels fresh. Dorfman has good instincts as a filmmaker, but it is clear she’s still feeling things out a little bit. I appreciate it choosing to show Ben’s growth and self-acceptance over the obstacles that many queer youth face, but its tendency to wear its heart on its sleeve does make it feel a bit overly sentimental and contrived. If there is one good thing I can say about this film, it is that I am glad that young people who are trying to understand their gender identity have a film that they can watch and see a character they can connect with on a deeper level. I wish that the film as a whole was better, but at least this features good representation of non-binary people and has a positive energy to it that is hard to resist.

Rating: 2/5