A sweet ode to acceptance
The outcome of the high-spirited musical “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” seems practically preordained, but it’s impossible not be swept up in this infectiously appealing ode to aspiring drag queens and other youths who struggle to fit in.
At his stale school in Sheffield, England, Jamie (Max Harwood, marvelous) daydreams in class, but the 16-year-old is quite focused on his aspirations: He yearns to be a drag queen. In short order, we see his imagination at work, in the form of a rousing musical number in which he fabulously rules the runway.
It’s only the beginning of many impressively choreographed interludes that speak to selfacceptance and finding your place in a world where it’s not always easy to be yourself. Though there’s plenty of razzle-dazzle to satiate any fan of the musical genre, the most stirring numbers are intimate in nature, when the characters sing from the heart.
Harwood sets the bar high when he belts out “The Wall in My Head,” looking out over the Sheffield landscape and longing to overcome his personal obstacles, wherever that journey might take him. It’s a modern cousin of “Over the Rainbow,” a signature anthem from “The Wizard of Oz” that spoke to LGBTQ audiences for generations.
“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” hits its peak with “This Was Me,” an astounding sequence that pays homage to drag queens and LGBTQ people of the past. It’s a nod to the trailblazers whose perseverance and determination paved the way for movies like this to be possible.
Throughout the film, we can’t help but be struck by what little opposition there is to Jamie’s dream. His mother (Sarah Lancashire, lovely) is so supportive that she would gain immediate induction into the PFLAG hall of fame. There’s a bully at school, but Jamie brushes him off with the flick of a wrist. The main resistance is Jamie’s father, whose lack of acceptance is hurtful to Jamie, but we know that this determined teenager is not going to be deterred.
The main dramatic question is whether Jamie will go to the school prom in drag.
This isn’t exactly the stuff of Shakespearean conflict, and it takes some steam out of the film, and even out of some of the numbers in the second half. Fortunately, there’s the presence of Richard E. Grant (sublime here) as drag star Loco Chanelle, who takes Jamie under his wing and shows the novice what a true drag queen is made of.
Most of the movie rests on the slight shoulders of the able Harwood, who can beautifully sing, dance and emote at the same time. He’s easy to embrace, as he captures Jamie’s youthful idealism, energy, sweetness, occasional self-absorption and burning desire for acceptance.
There’s nary an unpredictable moment in this family-friendly film — save for a few nice flourishes near the end — but for the most part, the musical is a rousing good time, something worth talking about.