Club Kid
Writer/Director: Jordan Firstman
Cast: Jordan Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Collen Camp, Vicki Pepperdine, Nigil Whyte, Eldar Isgandarov, Saturn Risin9, Miss Benny, Alaska Riley, Diego Calva, Reggie Absolom
Jordan Firstman might not have seemed like the type of comedian who could make a sincere and poignant movie about fatherhood, but Club Kid is just that. Firstman first appeared on my radar via the Instagram algorithm where I discovered his Impressions videos, but since then he has starred in I Love LA and appeared in English Teacher and Ms. Marvel in recurring roles. His new feature film feels like something very different.
In the film, we meet Peter, a party promoter who has spent ten years spending his nights throwing the wildest queer parties, selling drugs (and doing said drugs) while wasting his days trying to recover, all while barely being able to keep his business with co-owner Sophie alive. Then he finds out he has a 10-year-old son.
Firstman’s comedy, especially his Impressions series, is very attuned into a specific culture of the world (namely queerness, pop culture, and the internet) — but Club Kid digs a little deeper.
Peter’s inability to find real meaning in his life is what grounds the film. It’s what attaches himself to Arlo (played wonderfully by Reggie Absolom, who some say has a future career in modeling). With the responsibility of caring for a child thrust upon him, he initially resists it, hoping to return Arlo back to the woman who dropped him off before the night is out. But when that fails to be a reality, he leans in and the two bond as father and son.
There’s plenty of humor surrounding the heartbeat of the story, which helps the emotional beats land. Peter and Arlo bond over swearing together. Their outrageous roommate-turned-neighbor Nicky (Eldar Isgandarov) wants to become an aspiring queer philosopher. And Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) delivers the rundown on how Arlo came to be in the first place. All of it gives the film enough absurdity to stay recognizably within Firstman’s comedic world without undercutting the sincerity at its centre.
But really, this movie is about finding someone you love and finding your own self-worth through that process. In the first portion of the film, we wander through a day in Peter’s life. He drinks, does drugs, and hosts a party. He says he doesn’t think life will ever get better than this. It’s also the night that Arlo is conceived (thanks to a woman they would refer to as “Innit Babe” joining in on Peter and a man having sex). It’s ironic that it’s this night, which Peter sees as the peak of his life, that unknowingly sets in motion the relationship that will completely change his understanding of what a good life can look like.
The idea of the story itself is not new. We’ve seen plenty of movies where the reluctant parent slowly discovers that caring for a child gives their life a sense of purpose. What makes Club Kid feel distinct is the world Firstman places that story inside.
Arlo gives Peter something his old life never could: someone who needs him, trusts him and, in turn, gives Peter a reason to see himself as someone worth depending on. It’s this side of Firstman that I would not have expected, but that he delivers so well. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Firstman has always seemed capable of being earnest while poking fun at himself and the world at the same time. But it still feels unexpected to find such a tender, poignant story in the middle of a queer, New York, drug-fueled saga.
That balance is ultimately what makes Club Kid work. Firstman never abandons his sharp, self-aware comedy that made him stand out in the first place, but he uses it in service of something much more vulnerable. It’s quite incredible that beneath all the drugs, parties and sex, he has made something sincere about fatherhood, responsibility, and the strange ways another person can help you see value in yourself.
