The Thing About Harry

By: Dustin Bradley

Freeform showcased a brand new original movie last night and not only was it historic for being centered on queer characters, but it was also perhaps their best original film under their new name. If you missed The Thing About Harry then be sure to check it out on Demand, on Hulu, or any possible repeat showing because this movie was worth watching a thousand more times like all good rom-roms. It for sure will be a favorite of mine from now on. 

The Thing About Harry tells the story of Sam (“Grey’s Anatomy” newcomer Jake Borelli), a sweet young man struggling with love and his fateful encounters with none other than his former high school bully, the charming and enigmatic Harry (Niko Terho in his first on-screen role). The two are forced on a weekend road trip for a former classmate’s engagement party and end up on a completely different journey all together. 

Sam soon comes to learn that Harry is now living his truth as an out and proud Pansexual man and that he’s not the same guy that he was in high school. In fact, the guy he was back then was gripped with internalized homophobia and jealousy for Sam because Sam had the courage to fully be himself no matter what. This revelation leads to a friendship that blossoms beautifully and realistically throughout the film. It is this friendship that catapults this story into one for the ages.

I would like to try not to give too much of the plot away in order to allow you a chance to watch it and enjoy it for the first time without too much previous information. Instead, in this review I would like to focus on standouts in the cast and some certain production aspects that really stood out to me. To begin with, this cast…Jake Borelli leads this ensemble with such an energy that is truly effortless and he plays so well off of all of his costars that you instantly want to jump into this world just to grab a drink with him. Niko Terho is MAGNETIC! You can’t keep your eyes off of him from the moment he is on screen and it truly has to do with his effervescence and charm. Not to mention his killer smile! These two have such wonderful and beautiful chemistry that it makes rooting for them not even a question. 

Besides our two leading men, two other actors are a major standout along with one cameo that is just so simply perfect. For starters Britt Baron (“GLOW”), who plays Sam’s best friend, is such a gift to this movie. Her humor and heart make her character one that goes beyond the BFF trope that predominates her. The laughs and love that she shows her friend makes me giddy with glee that I am lucky enough to have a best friend that cares for me as much as she cares for Sam.

And then there is Writer/Director Peter Paige who steps in front of the camera returning to his humble beginnings as an actor before becoming a king of Freeform content with “The Fosters” and “Good Trouble.” Paige, who co-wrote the film with Joshua Senter, plays Sam’s roommate Casey later in his life and, honestly, has a performance that is so sweet it made me smile in every scene he’s in. And then last, but not least, there is a cameo performance of the one and only Karamo Brown (Netflix’s “Queer Eye”). Karamo is only in a very short section of the movie, but his presence is so perfect that it makes you wish there was a way he could do more acting. 

Peter Paige delivers a script that is so heartwarming, hilarious and nuanced that it makes you wish you were able to spend more time watching than just the hour and half that we get. And his directing and choices with the time jumps and transitions were honestly quite genius. He delivers a story that stays true to the rom-com archetype, but also reignites the genre and gives it a much needed moment in diversity and inclusion and finds a way to do it in the most meaningful and impactful ways. The simple fact that he chose to write Harry as Pan spreads awareness for such an under-represented subset of the LGBT+ community and finds a way to make people think and research what it means to be Pansexual (and that its quite different than Bisexual) is so admirable. And from what my research shows, this cast was not only directed by an out queer person but so are the stars themselves as well. This is a major step in the right direction to have truly queer people playing queer roles and not just making everything all about camp.

My hope for this movie is that not only will it find its audience on Freeform, but that it finds its audience on streaming. I’m optimistic it will be released as a physical copy that I can have for when I’m feeling like watching back to back with Love Simon. Please, if you have an opportunity to watch this film, take it! My hopes are that this will become enough of a success that studios will realize that queer stories are not and should not be an anomaly.

Please watch Freeform’s The Thing About Harry on Demand, Hulu, or whenever you see it playing on your local Freeform station.