It’s no wonder so many parents are dismayed when we hit our middle to late teens. “AJ” plans to go to Indonesia to volunteer to “knit jumpers for elephants,” who are “freezing to death” due to climate change. April wants to quit school, not go back for her senior year (she’s 17).
April abruptly decides to become “AJ.” April’s chopped off her own hair, which better suits her shapeless, fashion-free wardrobe. To her credit, her mother is supportive of her middle daughter, even if she’s seeing a long list of passions, phobias and dreams that all look like “phases” to her. “Because it CHANGES every five minutes, April!” AJ is at her most quotable when speaking aloud, often arguing with her Mum ( Jo Hartley). That not-quite-incessant narration is a rare misstep in writer-director Marley Morrison’s sympathetic comedy about being at that “experimenting” age in life, something parents have even more trouble with than their confused, fumbling-about-in-the-dark kids. That’d be a great confidence booster for someone at her age, when self-loathing is our default setting.ĪJ is the caustic, hyper-critical narrator of her summer vacation/summer romance story, a reluctant hostage to her mother’s “caravan resort” (RV trailer rentals) family holiday somewhere near Bridport, Dorset, another piece of Britain’s White Cliffs coast.
It’s a pity her character April, or “AJ” as she’s now billing herself, can’t see that. As you can tell from her photograph, actress Nell Barlow exudes Big Mary Elizabeth Winstead energy in “Sweetheart,” a light British rom-com about coming of age when you’re gay, confused and in your teens.
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