If you want better Grief portrayal
Choose Wild Horse Nine. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for Grief portrayal, with a 4.4 overall score.
Club Kid Movie Review
Content guidance
Frequent hard-drug use and intoxication, sexual encounters and pornography, strong language, and crude humor make this best suited to older teens and adults. A parent’s suicide, abusive family history, and painful separation add emotional weight.
Official rating
R
Bottom Line
Sharp humor, vivid nightlife, and a deeply affecting father–son bond make this a rewarding debut. The familiar custody plot and underdeveloped romance are its clearest limitations.
Comedy fans and viewers drawn to unconventional families, queer community, and adult coming-of-age stories. A cinema audience adds to the laughter and immersive club atmosphere.
Viewers sensitive to sexual material may struggle with the frank adult nightlife setting, even though the central family story is warm and sincere.
Verdict
Club Kid earns its recommendation through the warmth and comic friction between Jordan Firstman and Reggie Absolom. Their performances turn an instantly recognizable parenting premise into something funny, vulnerable, and unexpectedly moving. The surrounding queer community feels specific and welcoming, while textured cinematography and a standout soundtrack give New York’s nightlife both allure and consequence. Firstman’s confident direction usually makes the shift from outrageous comedy to intimate drama feel natural. The screenplay is less consistent when it introduces custody complications, leaves Arlo’s trauma underexplored, or gives the romance too little room. The two-hour-plus length also divides opinion. For comedy lovers and viewers drawn to unconventional families or adult coming-of-age stories, the emotional payoff generally outweighs those familiar and occasionally convenient story turns.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
74 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.051 (69%)
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Positive 3.5-4.411 (15%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.45 (7%)
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Negative 1.5-2.47 (9%)
Pros highlights
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The father–son connection repeatedly produces strong emotional reactions. Its tenderness usually feels earned, even when some of the surrounding plot turns seem convenient.
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Firstman’s debut is widely praised for confidence, intimacy, and a distinct point of view. The strongest reservations concern familiar plotting and uneven development rather than a lack of filmmaking ability.
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The supporting ensemble is lively, distinctive, and often scene-stealing. Absolom’s natural, emotionally open work is repeatedly singled out alongside the comic turns around him.
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The writing’s sharp humor and emotional sincerity are its main strengths. Familiar formulas, convenient transitions, and dropped story strands remain the most persistent complaints.
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The acting is a major strength, combining comic spontaneity with emotional vulnerability. The central performances keep a familiar premise feeling personal.
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Firstman gives Peter both magnetic comic energy and bracing vulnerability. His most emotional scenes reveal depth beneath the familiar snarky persona.
Cons highlights
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The romantic subplot has appealing warmth for some, but it is often criticized as thin or convenient. The chemistry divides opinion, and the professional relationship introduces an additional ethical complication.
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The supporting stories can feel underfed, especially Oscar’s romance and Sophie’s friendship with Peter. Strong performers frequently leave viewers wishing their characters had more time and development.
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The narrative’s shifts into custody drama divide opinion. Some find the emotional progression earned, while others see convenient turns, abrupt interruptions, and abandoned subplots.
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The film’s attention to self-loathing and sadness can be perceptive, but the psychological picture remains uneven. Arlo’s trauma and some of Peter’s underlying wounds receive less attention than several accounts would like.
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Arlo’s bereavement is one of the less satisfying strands. Several critical accounts want a fuller exploration of his pain instead of letting his sweetness serve Peter’s growth.
Use Cases
Best for
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Comedy fans can expect frequent laughs from sharp exchanges, visual gags, and eccentric personalities. The film also offers substantial tenderness beneath the outrageous situations.
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The shared laughter, immersive club soundscape, and textured images make theatrical viewing especially appealing. Multiple accounts recommend seeing it with a cinema audience.
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This is a rewarding adult coming-of-age story, with parenthood forcing a new understanding of identity and purpose. Its heartfelt treatment refreshes a familiar growth narrative.
Not ideal for
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Sexual-content-sensitive viewingThe drugs and sexual material may put some viewers off before the sincere family drama takes hold. Those sensitive to sexual content should weigh that frank adult setting against the warmer story.
Cast & Creators
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PeterFirstman is widely praised for matching comic confidence with unexpected emotional vulnerability, both in front of and behind the camera. His debut’s distinctive voice survives the more conventional stretches of the story.
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ArloAbsolom’s natural, understated performance makes Arlo endearing without relying on forced cuteness. His chemistry with Firstman carries much of the film’s warmth and pain, even where the writing leaves the child underdeveloped.
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CinematographerNewport-Berra’s fluid, textured images capture both the club scene’s unruly energy and the family story’s intimacy. The photography lets the same city feel exhilarating, weary, and newly discovered.
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NikkiIsgandarov’s roommate is a recurring comic highlight, mixing neurotic timing with surprising line readings. His heightened style and rapport with Camp make the small role especially memorable.
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SophieDelevingne brings nervous, unpredictable comic energy to Sophie and is often singled out as a standout. Some would welcome more room for the character and her complicated friendship with Peter.
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SaffronRisin9 brings radiance, mischief, and warmth to Saffron. The character’s bond with father and son makes the performance more than just a lively part of the party ensemble.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in narrative repetition, tonal consistency, dialogue quality, near average in lead performance, Self-discovery and fulfillment, below average in Grief portrayal, Child abuse portrayal, marketing appeal.
Comparison summary
71 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher55 (77%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts10 (14%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower6 (8%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grief portrayal | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| Child abuse portrayal | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| narrative repetition | 4.5 | 2.5 | +2.0 |
| tonal consistency | 4.6 | 3.2 | +1.4 |
| dialogue quality | 4.8 | 3.0 | +1.8 |
| writing quality | 4.3 | 3.0 | +1.3 |
| marketing appeal | 2.0 | 3.8 | -1.8 |
| costume design | 2.5 | 4.3 | -1.8 |
Consider This Instead
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Choose The Cycle. It scores 4.8 vs 3.9 for originality, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better Mental health portrayal
Choose Godzilla Minus One. It scores 4.7 vs 2.4 for Mental health portrayal, with a 4.6 overall score.
If you want better Family relationships
Choose Wildwood. It scores 5.0 vs 4.6 for Family relationships, with a 4.5 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Big Daddy (1999)
- Similar: Predictability The familiar premise makes the plot partly predictable to someone who knows Big Daddy.
- Similar: Audience suitability The source recommends the film to Big Daddy fans while noting its deeper and more specific characterization.
- Similar: Parenting premise The reviewer agrees that the surprise-child setup resembles an A24 take on Big Daddy.
About a Boy (2002)
- Similar: Man-child growth The reluctant adult’s growth recalls About a Boy.
- Compared: Parenting-film spectrum About a Boy is used as another reference point for the reluctant-parent premise.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
- Similar: Parenting drama The family story recalls Kramer vs. Kramer within a much wilder drug-centered milieu.
- Better: Child characterization and family drama The reviewer judges the film less successful than Kramer vs. Kramer, particularly in fully developing its child character.
FAQ
Is Club Kid mostly a comedy or a drama?
It begins with outrageous nightlife comedy and grows into a tender father–son drama. Both the frequent laughs and the emotional turns are central to its appeal.
What is its biggest strength?
Firstman and Absolom’s natural rapport gives the unexpected-parent story its warmth and emotional credibility.
Is the story original?
The basic parenting premise is familiar and some later developments are predictable. Its queer perspective, specific community, and lived-in New York setting give the execution a distinctive voice.
Does the romance get much development?
Several accounts want more time with Oscar and his relationship with Peter. His warmth and appeal are often praised, but the chemistry and the subplot’s completeness divide opinion.
Is it suitable for children?
The child-centered relationship does not make it children’s viewing. Hard-drug use, sexual material, pornography, strong language, suicide, and an abusive family background support a recommended minimum age of 17.
Is it worth watching in a theater?
Yes, several sources specifically recommend the shared laughter and immersive club experience. The textured images and music are particular strengths.
Does the runtime drag?
Many find the two-hour-plus running time brisk and worthwhile. A smaller group feels the length, narrative drift, or abrupt shift into custody complications.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Movie Pulse Radar
- Review score
- 4.0
YouTube - GLENN HATES EVERYTHING
- Review score
- 4.5
YouTube - Watch or Pass
- Review score
- 4.6
Article Reviews
undertheradarmag.com
Wrapping up this year’s NYFF with three very different films from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Jordan Firstman, and Andrey Zvyagintsev.
- Review score
- 4.8
film-forward.com
Paris Petitjean and Jordan Firstman in Club Kid (A24) Jordan Firstman’s debut directorial feature is an earnest, spirited, energetic comedy...
- Review score
- 4.3
movieweb.com
Jordan Firstman's feature film debut, 'Club Kid,' has earned a perfect 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Review score
- 4.6
inbetweendrafts.com
Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut, 'Club Kid,' finds unexpected tenderness in queer nightlife and the complicated business of growing up.
- Review score
- 4.2
ign.com
Club Kid review: Jordan Firstman’s moving indie comedy follows a gay New York club promoter and his surprise British son.
- Review score
- 4.6
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