Opened: September 10, 2021

Directed by: Jonathan Butterell

Starring: Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley, Sharon Horgan, Richard E. Grant, John McCrea, Charlotte Salt & Bianca Del Rio

The titular character in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is strong and fabulous, but the film unfortunately doesn’t have the energy to match its lead.

Jamie New (Max Harwood) has dreams of becoming a drag queen. He wants to debut his drag at prom and though his mom Margaret (Sarah Lancashire) supports him, students and the school oppose.

Harwood shines in his film debut and leaves a lasting impression that’ll have you cheering Jamie on. Jamie’s mentor Hugo a.k.a. Loco Chanelle is played by cisgender heterosexual actor Richard E. Grant and while he’s fine, it would have made more sense to have an actual drag queen in the role – like Drag Race’s Bianca Del Rio, who played the role onstage and has a cameo here.

Final say: Everybody will be talking about Harwood, but not much else. ★★★☆☆