From Omeleto.
A teenager is embarrassed.
Trey is a teenager dealing with a lot, from strife between his parents at home, family financial problems and feeling out of place at school. He has gynecomastia, and it makes him feel mortifyingly self-conscious. And when the guys at school catch a glimpse of his chest, their comments are merciless.
Trey could undergo an operation, but it would cost too much money for the cash-strapped parents. Determined to get it, Trey takes matters into his own hands, coming to an unorthodox solution to turn a liability into an advantage.
Directed and written by Austin Ford Franklin Culp, this outrageous yet emotionally grounded short comedy is an honest, funny riff on the high school coming-of-age story, where a young person emerging into adulthood reckons with identity and their place in the world, all while learning what they’re capable of achieving. Both warmly familiar and inventive, the narrative keeps things fresh by using the little-discussed subject matter of gynecomastia as a lens. But body shame, ostracization and finding a way to rise above crippling emotions remain a relatable emotional core that engages, even among the funniest and cringiest of moments.
Shot with a low-key naturalism and quicksilver pacing as scrappy and fast-thinking as Trey is, the storytelling spends time building up a solid foundation of Trey’s character, introducing us to his various contexts. His family isn’t well-to-do, with an affectionate but fraying mother and a feckless father, and the family struggles financially. At school, his peers tease, mock and persecute him, particularly about his body. Straight out of the 80s and 90s teen movies the film is riffing on, the ribbing and heckling are merciless, and the dialogue has a sharp ear for the loose, outrageous patois of teenagers.
But while it can be quite funny, it’s hard not to feel for Trey and how awful it makes him feel. As Trey, actor Anthony Ezell has a winning vulnerability that carries the film’s emotional resonance, but he never plays his character with any self-pity, instead tapping into Trey’s innate smarts, toughness and resourcefulness. He comes up with a profit-making scheme that both takes advantage of boys who bullied him for years while helping him come to a certain acceptance of his body. It makes for some of the film’s most outrageously hilarious moments, making it a unique twist on the very un-PC 80s comedy films like PORKY’S. It also sets in motion a chain of events that reveal unhealthy family dynamics and upends the status quo.
Funny, heartwarming and eye-opening, T-TTY BOY earns its heartwarming ending, as Trey solidifies the important relationships of his world and discovers a sturdy sense of self. It also shines a light on the topic of gynecomastia, which affects 32 to 65 percent of the global male population at some point in their lives. The subject is slowly coming into popular discourse, especially when stars like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson talk about it, dispersing the shame and silence around it and helping those who have it feel less isolated. In its way, T-TTY BOY aims to bring it out into the open, helping to bring more understanding and empathy while being highly entertaining at the same time.
T-TTY BOY. Courtesy of Austin Ford Franklin Culp at https://instagram.com/austiniteaustin.
