''Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'' is a 2015 drama film written and directed by
Stephen Cone
Stephen Cone is an American filmmaker, best known for '' Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'' and '' Princess Cyd''. He has received early career retrospectives on the Criterion Channel, Mubi, and at the Museum of the Moving Image, Berlin's Unknown ...
.
Plot
Henry Gamble is a
closeted
''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...
teenager and active member of a church youth group. He and his friend Gabe masturbate together while discussing a girl who will be at his birthday party tomorrow before falling asleep. The next morning the boys join the rest of the Gamble family for breakfast, before Henry’s 17th birthday party begins.
The party guests arrive and the film cuts between various storylines going on amongst them. Most of the party guests are members of the same church congregation, with the exception of some of Henry's school friends. One of the adult guests brings wine. Some of the adults are initially opposed to the wine, but by the end of the party most of them are either tipsy or drunk.
Bob Gamble is the patriarch of the family and head preacher of their church. Kat Gamble is the matriarch and also plays an active role in the church leadership. Their marriage is strained as Kat has had an affair and no longer has romantic feelings towards Bob. By the end of the film Kat tells Bob that she wants a break in the marriage, and that she intends on temporarily moving outside of their house. Kat encourages Bob to use their time apart to strengthen his relationship with Henry, and to accept their son's homosexuality.
Autumn, the elder Gamble child, is a freshman at a Christian college. She struggles with the loss of her virginity to her ex-boyfriend. Although it was a mutual decision to have sex, she feels a crisis of faith as a result of having sex before marriage. By the end of the film she has reconciled and get back together with her boyfriend.
Ricky is a party guest and member of the church congregation. He wishes to resume his duties as a camp chaperone for the church's annual summer camp, but church leadership is uncomfortable with this due to an incident from the previous year. Ricky was showering with some of the teenagers and they noticed he had an erection, prompting the kids to complain to the church. Noticing that many of the party goers feel uncomfortable around him, Ricky goes to the bathroom and has a nervous breakdown. He then takes a razor and severely lacerates his face, prompting his mother and various party guests to take him to hospital.
Party guest Logan has unreciprocated romantic feelings for Henry. Throughout the party Henry is cold towards Logan, but by the end of the film Henry asks Logan to spend the night with him. Henry and Logan lie in bed together, and Henry apologizes for his behavior. Henry then asks Logan if he wants to kiss, to which Logan says yes.
Cast
*
Cole Doman as Henry Gamble
*
Pat Healy as Bob Gamble
*Elizabeth Laidlaw as Kat Gamble
*Nina Ganet as Autumn Gamble
*
Tyler Ross as Aaron
*
Francis Guinan
Francis V. Guinan Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived series ''Eerie, Indiana''.
The Council Bluffs, Iowa-born actor ...
as Larry Montgomery
*Hanna Dworkin as Bonnie Montgomery
*Darci Nalepa as Grace Montgomery
*Patrick Andrews as Ricky Matthews
*
Meg Thalken
Meg Thalken is an American stage, film and television actress, known to television viewers for her work on '' ER''.
Filmography
*'' Chicago Story'' (1 episode, 1982) (TV)
*''Class'' (1983)
*''Through Naked Eyes'' (1983) (TV Movie)
*'' Jack ...
as Rose Matthews
*
Kelly O'Sullivan
Kelly O'Sullivan (born 1983/1984) is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She wrote and starred in '' Saint Frances'' (2019), which won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at 2019 SXSW Film Festival. She also wrote ...
as Candice Noble
*Travis Knight as Keith Noble
*
Daniel Kyri
Daniel Kyri is an actor best known for portraying Darren Ritter on '' Chicago Fire''.
Early life and education
Kyri grew up on the South Side of Chicago. He performed in plays as a child, crediting his mother for his love of the arts and enrolli ...
as Logan
*
Joe Keery
Joseph David Keery (born April 24, 1992), known professionally in music as Djo, is an American actor and musician. He became known for playing Steve Harrington in the science fiction series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present), and has since sta ...
as Gabe
*Mia Hulen as Emily
*Jack Ball as Jon
*Melanie Neilan as Christine
*Grace Melon as Heather
*Spencer Curnutt as Cooper
*Zoe Tyson as Cheyenne
Production
The film had a principal production schedule of 18 days.
Release
The film was premiered on May 7, 2015 at the
Maryland Film Festival
The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each March in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festiv ...
. The film later premiered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the BAMcinemaFest on June 25, 2015.
Home media
On September 8, 2015, it was reported that
Wolfe Video
Wolfe Video is the oldest and largest exclusive producer and distributor of LGBT films in North America.
Founded in 1985 in New Almaden by Kathy Wolfe, the company began as a consumer mail order distribution company for lesbian VHS videos but ha ...
had acquired the rights to ''Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'' with plans to distribute the film on
VOD and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in early 2016.
Reception
Critical response
''Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'' received a generally positive response from critics. , the film holds an 86% approval rating on the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 14 reviews with an average rating of 6.6/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 59 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Frank Scheck of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' described the film as a "somewhat less successful" work than Cone's similarly themed 2011 film ''
The Wise Kids'', but nevertheless lauded, "The film works best in its quieter moments, especially in its touching climactic scene in which Henry, sensitively portrayed by Doman in his film debut, finally allows himself to act on his suppressed impulses. It adds a welcome hopeful note to the preceding turmoil, reminding us yet again that the heart inevitably wants what it wants." Carson Kohler of ''
Vox'' also praised the film, writing, "There are so many substantial issues that this birthday party illuminates. Sexuality. The church. Sexuality and the church. And that's one line of the issues." Joe Ehrman-Dupre of ''
Indiewire'' praised the film as "miraculous" and wrote:
Ben Kenigsberg ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' gave the film a more mixed review, however, describing Cone as "not a sophisticated writer" and remarking, "''Henry Gamble's Birthday Party'' feels sincere but not accomplished, empathetic but not deep."
Accolades
The film was awarded the SHOUT Jury Award and the Audience Narrative Award at the 2015
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
The Sidewalk Film Festival is an annual film festival taking place during the last weekend in August in the Theatre District of Birmingham, Alabama, since 1999. The festival typically screens at seven venues located within downtown Birmingham, fea ...
.
References
External links
*
Criterion Channel{{Stephen Cone
Films directed by Stephen Cone
2015 films
2015 independent films
American LGBTQ-related films
Films about LGBTQ and Christianity
Films about parties
Films about sexual repression
Films shot in Chicago
2010s LGBTQ-related drama films
2015 LGBTQ-related films
2015 drama films
LGBTQ-related coming-of-age drama films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language independent films