Crush is the latest coming-of-age tale to be shunted onto streaming—honestly, I can’t remember the last time I saw a good old-fashioned high school comedy in theaters. Blockers, maybe? Or Love, Simon? Whichever came out first, who can even remember anything that far back, as both movies came out in 2018. That feels like six lifetimes ago, and a time when studios were still willing to bet on studio comedies with movie stars. But today? A studio comedy WITHOUT movie stars? In this economy? Forget about it. Thus, Crush is a straight-to-Hulu film due out on April 29. A trailer for Crush dropped yesterday, and it looks super cute.
It's a gay teen romance that, refreshingly, is not also a coming out story. Paige, played by Rowan Blanchard, is already out, as are, apparently, several other girls at her school, so she has dating options. Love, Simon is cute, but this won’t be secret notes and mistaken identities, Crush looks like a typical high school rom-com except it’s about girls loving girls, with artsy Paige torn between popular athlete Gabriela (Isabella Ferreira) and tomboy AJ (Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho). That’s a classic teen rom-com setup, right down to the shy kid trying out for a school activity outside their wheelhouse. Also, casting Megan Mullaly as the cool mom is brilliant, and the presence of Michelle Buteau as a supporting character in a rom-com once again has me asking when Michelle Buteau is just going to get a rom-com of her own. Full steam ahead on Crush, but down the road, someone please give Michelle Buteau a rom-com.
