Review: "Every Day" Explores the Challenge of Raising an Out Gay Teen

We all know the world isn't fair, but these days, it might be particularly unfair to the family drama film — the kind of Ordinary People-like movie that Hollywood studios used to make all the time, but that they've long since deemed too "quiet" to break through all the media clutter, or too "serious" for low-attention-span contemporary American audiences.

Indie producers sometimes still make these films — recent well-received examples include You Can Count on Me, Rabbit Hole, and The Kids Are All Right — but what's unfair about today's process is that unless the film is universally hailed by critics (and garners Oscar nominations to boot), it usually disappears without a trace. Confirming the worst studio fears, audiences do typically ignore it.

(Needless to say, today's audiences have no such "quality" requirement for the superhero, romantic comedy, or high-concept comedy movie genres, which is why the studios keep cranking out stinker after stinker, and raking in huge profits regardless.)

This status quo is a real shame, because the new family drama Every Day, opening this weekend in New York and L.A., isn't perfect, but it's definitely worth seeing — and not just because of an A-list cast that includes Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, and Eddie Izzard (all terrific, especially Schreiber who's been called "underrated" for so many years that it's not really true anymore).

Ned (Schreiber) and Jeannie (Hunt) are a typical California couple — typical in that they're overwhelmed with problems of a very contemporary nature: Ned hates his job writing for a cynical, bottom-trolling TV producer, and Jeannie's bitter, overbearing father has major health problems and can no longer afford his astronomical medical bills, so he must move in with them.

Meanwhile, Ned and Jeannie's teenage son Jonah (Ezra Miller, who is also excellent) is an out gay teen. While Jeannie is supportive, Ned still hasn't quite been able to accept the idea of a son who wants to go to a gay prom sponsored by his GSA.

Ezra Miller and Helen Hunt in Every Day

There is no "high concept" here, just a group of flawed, but well-intentioned people trying to make sense of their lives. The writer-director Richard Levine has said in interviews that he based much of the story on his own life (and as a former writer for Nip/Tuck, the scenes with TV producer Eddie Izzard demanding more and more outrageous storylines — "Anal is the new oral!" — take on a new relevance).

The scenes with teenage Jonah are particularly interesting. At first, Ned doesn't want Jonah attending the gay prom at all, because he's worried that he'll be hit on by college boys. Later, when Jeannie says he can go, Ned objects to the way he is dressed (a sleeve-less t-shirt).

"Why don't you just go in a jock-strap?" Ned says dismissively.

It's a pitch-perfect blend of the over-protectiveness (and slight cluelessness) of almost every parent, but it's mixed with Ned's own homophobia and obvious discomfort with being the father of a gay kid.

Further complicating matters, Izzard's TV producer is openly gay and also something a jerk, quick to confirm all of Ned's worst stereotypes about the lives (and predatory natures) of some gay men.

The film's biggest flaw is the ending where all three storylines — the ones involving the gay son, Jeannie's dad, and Ned's dissatisfaction with life and work — just happen to come to a head in the same night. The conclusion of the son's storyline is particularly clunky: it reads like the cliched nightmare of a parent of a gay son, not subtle or unexpected enough to be believable.

But almost everything else about the film is quite real and touching.

Hopefully that will be enough to get Every Day some of the attention it deserves.

The trailer for Every Day