Mutt (Movie)

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    ‘Mutt,’ ‘Unpregnant’ and More Streaming Gems

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    The complexities of 21st-century romantic entanglements are front and center in this month’s roundup of hidden gems on your subscription streaming services.‘Mutt’ (2023)Stream it on Netflix.Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s micro-budget New York drama is everything indie movies are supposed to be: keenly observed and modestly executed, telling us a story and showing us a world we don’t usually see in mainstream cinema. In this case, it’s the world of Feña (Lío Mehiel), a transgender man and a semi-desperate pseudo-hustler whose life goes momentarily topsy-turvy when he accidentally reconnects with a former boyfriend from before his transition. Every performer is on point, natural and credible, and the screenplay is lived-in and mostly devoid of histrionics (Feña gives a big speech to his dad about how difficult it all is, and it’s the single false note, the only scene that feels like a scene from a movie instead of a scene from real life). This is a small film, but a mighty one.‘Unpregnant’ (2020)Stream it on Max.When this Max original debuted in 2020, its story — of a young woman (Haley Lu Richardson, “The White Lotus”) inviting her former BFF (Barbie Ferreira, “Euphoria”) on an impromptu road trip to a state that doesn’t require parental consent for an abortion — felt a bit less urgent. In this post-Dobbs world, in which such journeys have become necessary even for some adults, the picture’s light tone and comic beats could seem to make light of a serious situation. But the co-writer and director Rachel Lee Goldenberg balances these trick tones with aplomb, primarily focusing on the splintered (but repairable) friendship between these disparate women, without trivializing the motivation for their reunion. The result is a sharp but likable road movie, and a fine showcase for two charismatic performers.‘Crush’ (2022)Stream it on Hulu.The filmmaker Sammi Cohen, who had a popular hit on Netflix with last year’s Adam Sandler (and family) vehicle “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” directs this delightfully frisky queer teen sex comedy. Rowan Blanchard is Paige, split between two potential romantic interests: the popular Gabriela (Isabella Ferreira) and the introverted AJ (Auli‘i Cravalho), who also, inconveniently enough, happen to be sisters. Though contemporary in its setting and sexual politics, “Crush” betrays Cohen’s love for ’90s teen comedies of the “Clueless” ilk, borrowing their candy-colored aesthetics as well as their knowing and occasionally adult-oriented sense of humor. Blanchard is a charming anchor, Ferreira a memorable counterpoint and Cravalho, currently brightening up “Mean Girls” and best known to younger viewers for voicing “Moana,” is one of the most exciting young actors on the scene.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      ‘Mutt’ Review: Surviving Reconciliation

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      A newly out transgender man meets with his estranged father, his ex-boyfriend and his sister for the first time since his transition in this drama.Playing out over the course of one New Yorker’s notably difficult day, the drama “Mutt” follows its protagonist, Feña (Lío Mehiel), as he has surprise encounters with three important figures from his life — his sister, his ex-boyfriend and his estranged father. For anyone, this lineup would represent a packed schedule, but it’s especially challenging for Feña, a newly out transgender man who hasn’t seen many loved ones since his transition.Feña’s father, Pablo (Alejandro Goic), is the first to call and the last to arrive in the film. There’s a cultural divide between Feña and Pablo, who is planning a visit from Chile. Feña doesn’t speak perfect Spanish, and in turn, his father refuses to speak to Feña respectfully about his gender. But before that visit, Feña is bowled over by another disruption. He runs into his ex-boyfriend, John (Cole Doman), at a club. While the two still have chemistry, John is reticent to rekindle their relationship, afraid of the chaos that Feña unleashes into his life. Feña has barely had a chance to recover from this surprise rendezvous, when his younger sister, Zoe (MiMi Ryder), abruptly appears at Feña’s work, having run away from school and from the home she shares with Feña’s abusive mother.The writer and director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz uses elegant observations of urban life to pass the narrative between the three central relationships. Feña juggles his responsibilities through phone calls and borrowed cars; his lifelines are doorbell speakers and public restrooms. These features of city life feed a sense of realism, as does the film’s warmly-lit and intimately framed cinematography. But that realism here is exhausting, even if it is well-intentioned — by the film’s end, even Feña seems ready to escape from the trial of his packed plotlines.MuttNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. In theaters. More