“She’s the He,” an audacious debut film by the writer-director Siobhan McCarthy, follows in the comedic, camp footsteps of the queer classic “But I’m a Cheerleader.” This movie is also disarmingly cartoonish, a teen-movie throwback set in a fever dream where queerness rules the school (a T-shirt reads “Ryder High: Bareback Ryders”).
We start with gay rumors, which are hindering Alex (Nico Carney, amusingly exaggerating toxic masculinity) from his chances of dating his crush, Sasha (a standout Malia Pyles). So he and his shy longtime bestie, Ethan (Misha Osherovich, contrived but still affecting), dress in women’s clothes and sneak into the girls’ locker room. Very “Some Like It Hot” behavior, but this gender swap has present-day consequences: Not only does this cross-dressing ruse backfire on Alex, but the fallout of playing a role and being exposed cuts Ethan to the core as she discovers that she is transgender.
McCarthy’s direction is assured and lively, so clearly a homage to the films, like “She’s the Man,” that inspired this one. Some flaws, such as actors past their teenage years that would never pass as high school students, just feel like part of the movie’s detachment from reality. Still, its overarching sex-comedy absurdism occasionally clashes with genuine emotional scenes, like when Ethan comes out to her mom — the same mom Alex can’t stop flirting with.
Shifting attention away from trans panic, McCarthy, who is trans and nonbinary, puts Alex’s heterosexual horniness in the hot seat. The film’s endearingly scrappy creation has something worth saying: If the world won’t make a place for you, make one for yourself.
She’s the He Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes. In theaters.
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