It’s always interesting when a directorial debut makes a big splash in the awards-season conversation. Such has been the case with Jordan Firstman’s feature debut Club Kid, a comedic drama in which Firstman also stars as Peter, a gay, hard-partying club promoter who is blindsided when he learns he has a 10-year-old son. Arlo (Reggie Absolom) is the product of a wild night on which Peter was too intoxicated to realize that the equally hard-partying British woman who had been following him around all night and obviously barking up the wrong tree was ultimately successful in her quest to have relations with him. It seems like a bit of a farfetched way in in hindsight, but that backstory feels totally smooth as we watch it play out in the cold open. When Arlo’s mother passes away a decade later, the film, like Peter, slowly sheds its party aesthetics for something much more heartfelt.
Shy, quiet Arlo is happy to be in Peter’s company, and there are three key elements which help the believability of that reaction. For starters, his stepdad is said to be abusive by Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), the friend of Arlo’s mother who swiftly drops him off in New York City and quickly parties her way away from the situation. Secondly, Peter’s vices are written and played in such a way that he believably detoxes relatively quickly, despite having clear substance abuse issues overall. Last but certainly not least, Absolom is a major find. Given his easygoing nature, Arlo could have quickly faded into the background of the entire film, but Absolom has such balance to his acting here that every choice Arlo makes feels substantiated and substantial. He charms everyone he meets, but not because he’s ever precocious. Rather, his creativity and optimism are infectious in a superbly grounded way.
Despite a well-worn premise and a gutsy setting for said premise, the film as a whole feels as grounded as Arlo. When Peter later has to fight for custody of Arlo, he says through tears that Arlo “gave him a why.” That is reflected in the very essence of the movie. Again, Peter has definitely not been taking the best care of himself, but it’s never to a shocking or over-the-top degree. The film also never uses his addictions as an excuse for him not to do better in service of Arlo. Sometimes this phrase is meant as a criticism, but here I absolutely mean it as a compliment: Club Kid walks perfectly down the middle. It never strays too far into despair, but also never becomes tastelessly sentimental. Its heart and its tone are always in the right place.
As if all of that weren’t enough, this movie is hysterically funny. The way comedy scenes quickly escalate here is dynamite, and if you see it with a full crowd, you will likely miss some of the smaller punchlines. But there’s no denying that every joke I heard, I enjoyed immensely. Along with Absolom’s performance, the comedy is the fulcrum point by which the film’s tone ultimately works. If it succeeds in making you laugh, it will probably succeed in making you cry as well. Rest assured, though: these will be very happy tears. | George Napper
Club Kid was featured at the 2026 St. Louis International Film Festival. Further information about the Festival, which runs Nov. 5-15, is available on the festival website.
