Fitting In, 2023.
Written and Directed by Molly McGlynn.
Starring Maddie Ziegler, Emily Hampshire, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Ki Griffin, Djouliet Amara, Dale Whibley, Dennis Andres, Michael Therriault, Rhoslynne Bugay, Christian Rose, Emma Hunter, Dale Whibley, and Marni Van Dyk.
SYNOPSIS:
A teen girl is diagnosed with a reproductive condition that upends her plans to have a sex life, propelling her to explore unusual methods. Her relationships are challenged with everyone in her life, but most importantly, herself.
Coming-of-age sex dramas/comedies are a dime a dozen, with many now rightfully targeting the untapped demographic of girls in the modern era. However, writer/director Molly McGlynn’s Fitting In taps into uncharted territory with an exploration of intersex coming-of-age sexuality, presented with unabashed honesty and a tender performance from Maddie Ziegler, whose Lindy’s escalating frustration and brash, impulsive sexual behavior brought about by unique frustrations making her different in ways she doesn’t appreciate yet feels authentic and offsets the occasional overwritten plot point.
Lindy fantasizes and masturbates about her movie nerd crush, Adam (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), penetrating her vagina. She isn’t particularly shy with her best friend Vivian (Djouliet Amara) about her fascination with experiencing sex for the first time, something that this friend speaks about with experience. Nevertheless, as her friendship with Adam continuously develops into something romantic and filled with make-out sessions typically initiated by the athletic, horny boy, Lindy fully intends on making him her first sexual encounter. She is so certain that he should be that special first person that she heads off to buy birth control, just in case anything unplanned happens.
After a routine doctor checkup, it turns out that Lindy was born without a uterus and doesn’t have a developed vagina. The doctor handles this questionably, insinuating that this is something surgery could fix and that Lindy should hurry up and think about it while also sending her home glorified medical dildos to play with, starting with smaller sizes and working her way up as a means to develop her vagina.
Unsurprisingly, Lindy being nervous to tell anyone about this condition causes a rift between several friendships. She is naturally irritated that her breast cancer surviving mother, Rita (Emily Hampshire), found out from the doctors wanting a parent present at the hospital, even if it seems like sharing different kinds of othering medical trauma would be something to bond and unite over. In a few instances, the film pays a bit too much attention to Rita, looking to reignite her love life after a history of disappointing men, although the mother-daughter emotional throughline does mostly pay off, especially considering the moving chemistry Maddie Ziegler and Emily Hampshire share. Often, they feel like a real mother and daughter with friction, pushing and pulling away, only to confide and come together.
Elsewhere, Lindy acts out to her track peers and coach (a sport she is clearly gifted at), her best friend Vivian, and Adam, who she starts to hurt by saying things she doesn’t mean simply because she is too afraid to open up about being unable to currently give him sex. She tries to secretly make this up to him through fellatio and other sexual activities, but he is also not naïve about the fact that something is off, especially when she suddenly bursts into pushing him away.
Lindy also happens to befriend a non-binary, intersex schoolmate named Jax (Ki Griffin), who is much more open about their unique identity. There is a truly sweet friendship that blossoms here, even if it’s one that Lindy might not know how to properly appreciate as she still wishes to be “normal.” After a few weeks of using the medical dildos, the doctor advises that Lindy is free to continue with the dilation by using real penises provided that they are not too large, which opens a door to some caution to the wind, bold behavior that she devastatingly comes to explain as “betraying her body because it had already betrayed her” in a sobering, affecting realization.
Movies about teenagers, especially ones centering on sex, go a long way when filmmakers such as Molly McGlynn stay true to the high school experience, whether it be the language used or not shying away from depicting uncomfortable sexual material just as much as heartwarming intimate encounters. Even if Fitting In stumbles with an overstuffed third act containing too many arguments and neatly resolved threads, there is bare, pained honesty coming from Maddie Ziegler’s performance. Intersex sexuality is, in theory, an esoteric angle, but that’s also a narrowminded perspective that shouldn’t deter anyone from checking this out; there is universal beauty here regarding the numerous emotions that come with first love and intimacy.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
