THE STORY – A washed-up underground party promoter’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to care for a son he never knew he had.
THE CAST – Jordan Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Reggie Absolom, Eldar Isgandarov & Miss Benny
THE TEAM – Jordan Firstman (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 126 minutes
When Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut “Club Kid” begins, the camera spins in a dizzying 360-degree shot from inside a cab ride, immediately submerging us in Peter Green’s (Firstman) chaotic world. It’s a disorienting but intoxicating feeling that perfectly places us in Peter’s headspace. Firstman wants the audience to feel the rush of this nightclub, gay, partyboy lifestyle before revealing the emotional and psychological emptiness hidden beneath it. The opening sequence acts as both an invitation and a warning. You’re all invited to the party, but eventually, the lights come on, the music fades, and when the drugs wear off, reality has a way of finding you.
Set in Brooklyn in 2016, Peter owns a gay nightclub with his business partner Sophie, played by Cara Delevingne. Sophie takes the business seriously, while Peter exists in a permanent state of bliss, more a client of his own club than its owner. He knows everybody, charms everyone, and glides through New York nightlife with a light, free-floating ease. But Peter’s life is also one endless cycle of self-destruction. He parties through the night, deals drugs inside the club, has random unprotected sex, stumbles home at sunrise, sleeps, and detoxes, only to repeat the process all over again. He has built an existence around avoiding responsibility and preserving the illusion of freedom. But then, ten years or so after a chance encounter with a woman friend he insists never happened because, according to Peter, he’s “definitely not bisexual,” that reality comes knocking on his door. A friend of the woman he was once with, named Edison (played hilariously by Kirby Howell-Baptiste), arrives from the UK with a ten-year-old boy, Arlo (Reggie Absolom), and informs Peter that he is, in fact, his son. Arlo’s mother has tragically passed away, his stepfather is abusive, and rather than see him enter foster care, Edison drops the child in Peter’s lap and exits the situation entirely. Peter rejects the notion of him becoming a father to this child, whom he doesn’t know immediately. And why wouldn’t he? He’s not emotionally, financially, or naturally stable enough to take this on. He’s adamant that there’s no way he could’ve slept with a woman. Except he did. And now, at precisely the same moment Sophie begins pushing him out of the business, Peter suddenly finds himself facing the one thing he has spent his entire adult life avoiding: growing up. What follows is one of the year’s most pleasant surprises and one of the most impressive directorial debuts of the year.
Firstman combines wild debauchery with surprising emotional sincerity to craft a heartfelt, reflective, and mature coming-of-age story about a carefree gay nightclub owner who is suddenly forced to become an adult. There are obvious fish-out-of-water elements here, and the setup occasionally recalls broad comedies where irresponsible adults are suddenly saddled with children. But “Club Kid” is after something much more personal and vulnerable, while showcasing a side of New York City culture rarely captured on film until the last couple of years.
“Club Kid” clearly reflects many of Firstman’s own experiences within queer nightlife culture. More importantly, Firstman demonstrates tremendous confidence behind the camera, capturing a side of New York queer life rarely portrayed with this level of authenticity and specificity. The clubs, the bathrooms, the strangers, the endless movement from one night into another all carry the texture of a lived experience. This can also be felt by the many vivid people and personalities Firstman has cast to populate these spaces. Firstman doesn’t glamorize this life nor condemn it outright. Instead, he understands both the comfort and the sadness inside it. He recognizes the sense of community these spaces promote while also acknowledging how easy it is to lose yourself in them. There’s a loose, energetic quality throughout that gives the film strong Sean Baker vibes (probably due to being produced by Baker’s producing partner, Alex Coco), not just in its aesthetic but also in its emotional spirit. Like Baker’s best work, “Club Kid” finds empathy in people often dismissed or misunderstood while balancing humor and heartbreak without forcing either.
“Club Kid” also works because Firstman delivers a phenomenal lead performance. Peter is not immediately likable. In fact, there are stretches where he can be downright infuriating. He’s selfish, irresponsible, immature, and often incapable of thinking beyond his own immediate desires. Yet Firstman guides us through every stage of Peter’s evolution with such honesty that the emotional journey becomes deeply affecting. Audiences may begin by being disgusted by him, but by the end, you’re genuinely rooting for him. As Peter begins spending time with Arlo, something slowly shifts in him. He discovers that the boy has musical talent and could one day even become a DJ at the same clubs he frequents. The connection between them develops naturally and without manipulation. Peter begins to see parts of himself reflected in Arlo, and, perhaps more importantly, he begins to recognize the kind of care and love he never gave himself. In many ways, “Club Kid” becomes a story about learning to love yourself before you can love someone else.
Diego Calva is an inspired addition to the cast as Oscar (The “Babylon” star is one of the few recognizable faces in the film), a social worker involved in Arlo’s case who quickly becomes a romantic possibility for Peter. Firstman is fully aware of Calva’s sex appeal and wisely leans into it. But beneath the charm and chemistry, Oscar represents something more significant for Peter. He represents stability, adulthood, and perhaps a future that Peter never allowed himself to imagine, even for a day. Peter sees himself as damaged goods, someone beyond fixing. Still, Oscar and Arlo together suggest another possibility for him, and by the time “Club Kid” enters its third act, we’re wanting it for him too, a testament to Firstman’s instincts as a storyteller and performer.
While those intuitions are mostly correct, “Club Kid” does eventually struggle under the weight of everything it wants to achieve. As social services become involved and legal proceedings emerge during the third act, the story begins expanding into courtroom drama territory. Suddenly, what had been an intimate father-son story starts feeling slightly unwieldy. At over two hours, the runtime eventually becomes a bit bloated, and there’s a sense that Firstman is trying to juggle one or two ideas too many. Still, the emotions conjured within “Club Kid” remain earned. Even when the film’s story occasionally becomes predictable, it never loses sight of Peter’s humanity or the sincerity at its center. It may run a bit too long, but Firstman knows precisely where to end Peter’s story. Peter’s future may be unclear, but seeing where he began and where he ultimately lands, with a warm sense of hope for the future, feels deeply satisfying for the first time in a long time.
Earnest, messy, funny, and unexpectedly moving, “Club Kid” is the kind of pure indie gem that gets you excited about cinema and the new storytellers it gives us all over again. It’s a heartwarming film about queer nightlife, fatherhood, self-worth, and growing up long after society says you should have already done so. More than anything, it understands that redemption isn’t about becoming perfect. Sometimes it’s simply about finally permitting yourself to change, one step at a time.
