Comedy, Drama  •  2018  •  99 min  •  Adults (18+)

Alex Strangelove (2018)

Alex Strangelove poster

Alex Strangelove (2018)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive
Political: Strong Left
Diversity: High
LGBTQ: Positive
Family Values: Strongly Progressive

Viewer Rating
6.9

Overview

Alex Strangelove is a 2018 Netflix teen comedy about a high school guy who sets out to lose his virginity with his girlfriend, only to discover, via a charming college guy at a party, that he may have been aiming at the wrong target. The Progressive label follows directly from the film's DNA. Its entire arc centers on a young man accepting his gay identity, and the story treats that self-discovery as the resolution, not a subplot. Heteronormative expectations are framed as the obstacle. Acceptance, from friends and eventually family, is the payoff. Religion plays no role. There are no countervailing traditional signals to soften the rating.


Starring Cast

Michael Abela  •   Brendan Archer  •   Joshua Barragan


Where to watch

Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

Political: Strong Left
Confidence: High

The film's central narrative explicitly champions the acceptance of LGBTQ+ identity and challenges heteronormative expectations, promoting a core tenet of progressive social ideology.

Diversity: High
Confidence: High

The movie features a gay protagonist, demonstrating character diversity. Its narrative explicitly focuses on the protagonist's journey of self-discovery and acceptance of his sexuality, thereby challenging traditional heterosexual norms as a societal expectation.

Secondary

LGBTQ: Positive
Confidence: High

The film positively portrays Alex's coming-of-age journey as he explores and accepts his queer identity. It depicts his internal struggles with empathy and features a confident, positive gay character in Elliot. The narrative ultimately affirms Alex's self-discovery and his choice to embrace his true self, supported by his community.

Family Values: Strongly Progressive
Confidence: High

The film's narrative strongly endorses progressive family values by centering on a protagonist's journey of self-discovery and coming out as gay, depicting the acceptance of non-traditional sexual identities within the family, and normalizing same-sex relationships.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

Alex Strangelove centers on a high school student's exploration of his sexual orientation, specifically his journey to accept his identity as a gay man. The narrative does not include any identifiable transsexual characters or themes, focusing instead on the protagonist's personal coming-out story and relationships.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film features an original story and characters, with no prior source material, historical figures, or previous adaptations to establish a canonical gender for comparison. All characters were created for this specific production.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

The film "Alex Strangelove" features original characters created for this specific production. There is no prior source material, historical record, or previous installment where characters were established as a particular race before this film's creation.

Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High

Not depicted in the film.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

6.9

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
6.3
The Movie Database logo
6.6

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
8.4
Metacritic logo
6.2

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