Thank God for ‘Club Kid’

Writer, actor and comedian Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut, “Club Kid,” made waves at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. The film received a six-minute-long standing ovation at its premiere, and was one of the first to be acquired by a major studio, A24, which won a bidding war with Netflix and Mubi.  

“Club Kid” follows Peter (Firstman), a party promoter and active club goer in New York City whose reckless lifestyle has begun to take both a physical and emotional toll on him. His business partner and former best friend, Sophie (Cara Delevingne), politely insists that he remove himself from their business endeavors, claiming that he is too addicted to sex, music and MDMA to be a functioning adult.

Spiteful and jobless, Peter soon discovers he has an illegitimate 10-year-old British son with a woman he drunkenly had sex with at one of his parties (“I’ve never even touched a pussy,” Peter insists while trying to deny the boy’s relation to him). The boy’s mother has recently died, and Peter is forced to claim him as his only remaining biological family member. Through their shared taste in music and go-with-the-flow approaches to life, Peter and his son, Arlo (Reggie Absolom), form a quick yet intimate bond. 

Firstman’s performance as Peter is a lovely surprise; I, like many others, was only aware of him through his skits on Instagram and his dead-pan, patently Gen-Z performance on “I Love LA.” Not only is Firstman an exceptional comedic force, he has the power to convey large, complex emotions entirely convincingly. 

An additional highlight from the main cast is Diego Calva as Oscar, who is first seen in the film in a dark club (begging Peter to cuckold him) and returns 10 years later as a child psychologist who helps Arlo adjust to life in America. If Calva’s breakout performance in 2022’s “Babylon” was impressive, his presence in “Club Kid” is seismic. Oscar has deep adoration for everything and everyone around him — be it a dirty dance floor or a glimpse into Peter and Arlo’s home — and Calva expresses this flawlessly.  

Though critical of Peter’s overly-dependent relationship to the club scene, the film is an unabashed love-letter to queer rave culture. The party that introduces the audience to Peter and his gaggle of gays is shot at the 140-year-old Market Hotel in Bushwick, a bank turned concert hall that has become a staple of the New York City clubbing scene over the past 50 years.

The film’s ensemble is primarily made up of electronic musicians. There’s Berlin-based DJ LSDXOXO, who plays Peter’s primary confidant; artist Saturn Risin9 as Saffron, the doll who teaches Arlo how to DJ and even a brief cameo from Shygirl, British singer and DJ who recently toured with Charli XCX. Not only are each of these casting choices inspired, but they each demonstrate Firstman’s genuine love for and connection with his community.

The film is spit-taking-ly funny (a standout moment for me was 10-year-old Arlo on his second day with Peter proudly donning a borrowed shirt reading “I love Björk and Bareback”), yet does not feel exclusionary to those who are unfamiliar with rave culture. Much of the language in the film is, for lack of a better word, niche.

But through the combined power of refined writing and comedically talented actors, the humor is largely accessible. At the screening I attended, a 60-something-year-old French man and teenage film student shared hearty laughs at a scene centered around the term “kundle” (a slang word for a bundle of ketamine).

Firstman takes the trope of “jaded, irresponsible man finds humanity while taking care of a young child” (think Adam Sandler’s “Big Daddy”) and imbues it with the traditionally queer “found family” trope to create a whole new creature. Arlo has a strong bond with Peter, but it is only through the support of Peter’s entourage of dolls and DJs that each of them can fully flourish. Taking care of Arlo becomes a community affair, one that helps Peter begin to see the best in those around him.

“Club Kid” premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival on May 15. It will be distributed worldwide by A24. 

Regions: Cannes