It’s hard enough to be true to oneself in high school. The fear of being ostracized or bullied is more plentiful than bad cafeteria pizza. Now imagine you’re a 16-year-old boy who dreams of being a drag queen? That’s the story being told in Amazon Studios’ adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, based on the hit stage musical that is itself taken from a true story.
In what looks like a total blast of a feel-good romp, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie stars Max Harwood as the titular teen who longs to be an out and proud drag queen. The footage we get features dance numbers galore, in school cafeterias, on the catwalk, in nightclubs. Plus it has Richard E. Grant hamming it up as Jamie’s mentor, Sharon Horgan (she’s everywhere lately, right?) as his teacher, and more. It also looks as if Jamie will have a pretty good support network, too, which is good to see.
The film is directed by Jonathan Butterell, who developed Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for the stage. Also in the cast are Lauren Patel, Sarah Lancashire , Adeel Akhtar, Ralph Ineson, and Shobna Gulati.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie hits Amazon Prime Video on September 17th.
Inspired by true events, “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” follows Jamie New (Harwood), a teenager from Sheffield who dreams of life on stage. While his classmates plan their livelihoods after they leave school, Jamie contemplates revealing his secret career ambition to become a fierce and proud drag queen. His best friend Pritti (Patel) and his loving mum (Lancashire) shower him with endless support, while local drag legend Miss Loco Chanelle (Grant) mentors him toward his debut stage performance. But Jamie also has to contend with an unsupportive father (Ineson), an uninspired careers advisor (Horgan), and some ignorant school kids who attempt to rain on his sensational parade. In rousing and colorful musical numbers, Jamie and his community inspire one another to overcome prejudice, be more accepting, and step out of the darkness into the spotlight.
