Amazon Prime Video’s My Fake Boyfriend is directed by acclaimed director Rose Troche and written by Luke Albright, Joe Wanjai Ross, and Greg Boaldin. The queer romantic comedy stars Keiynan Lonsdale as Andrew, Dylan Sprouse as Jake, Samer Salem as Rafi, Marcus Rosner as Nico, Karen Robinson as Lucille, Sarah Hyland as Kelly, Jaden Goetz as Cristiano, Rachel Risen as Emily, Simon Sinn as Mr. Jiang, Matthew Finlan as Leo, Bukola Ayoka as Tasha, Brooker Muir as Clint, Rong Fu as Jessica, Tricia Black as Peyton and Andrew Meikle as Troy.
The film was initially released in the US on June 17, 2022. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Amazon Prime Video’s My Fake Boyfriend Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers
My Fake Boyfriend: Interesting Plot, Unengaging Characters
Dating life in New York City clearly sucks, that is why Andrew- our protagonist, has been stuck with a toxic, cheating partner for ages and cannot seem to find a way out. After every fight or break, his movie star boyfriend, Nico finds his way back to Andrew and, the latter is easily lured with fake promises and gifts. It is a sad affair and, that is exactly why Andrew’s best friend, Jake (along with his girlfriend- Kelly) decides to intervene.
The intervention is massive and the finest use of the technological advancement we have! Jake creates an online persona named Cristiano Maradonna and presents him as Andrew’s perfect yet fake boyfriend. As Cristiano’s online presence grows massively, Andrew secures some gains and losses. But, what makes the entire scenario turn is when Rafi, a humble restauranter enters Andrew’s life and sweeps him off his feet.
With Cristiano becoming real every other day, Jake jammed deep in the deepfake, Nico losing his mind and Rafi right around the corner, things become more complicated for Andrew than they ever have been. The perks and the consequences all knock at Andrew’s doors and he needs to make the right choices to get his life back on track.
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My Fake Boyfriend is a movie that brimmed with potential when the trailer first dropped. In fact, even while watching the movie, one can understand how crucial and satirical this movie could be by mixing elements of Black Mirror and Fire Island to honestly give the audiences something ingenuine. However, it falls short at every landing and fairs only as a decent queer rom-com.
One of the main issues with My Fake Boyfriend has to be the uninteresting characters and fading comedy. No doubt Keiynan Lonsdale’s Andrew has the capacity to make us relate to his terrible dating life but, do we ever feel sad for him? The character hardly tries to engage the audience and make us invest in him and when a protagonist fails to do that the movie, either way, turns lukewarm.
Dylan Sprouse’s Jake delivers as much as he can but, the comic timing is surely not one that will make you laugh out loud and Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland is a gem gone to waste in this story. It is not until Samer Salem’s Rafi enters the story that some form of warmth is felt and strikes awesome chemistry with our protagonist. Marcus Rosner as Nico is pretty cool as a psychotic, toxic person and is silly enough to give us a few laughs.
However, even if the comedy falls short, the brewing romance between Salem and Lonsdale is heartwarming. The entire segment the two spend going out at the skating ring and sharing a cab ride back home has to be one of the most well laid out sequences in the film, after the final act at the funeral, of course.
My Fake Boyfriend: Final Verdict
My Fake Boyfriend could really tackle the issues of speed dating and, online dating, in general by putting the LGBTQ+ community in focus. It could also show Jake’s obsession with the online image really taking over him rather than taking over his interpersonal relationships. The film could very well be fun yet cautionary tale. But, at every step, it seemed to miss out on something or the other.
Yet the film is surely an enjoyable watch. It has a driven plot and moments of charm and as a one-time watch, it will make everyone’s list more or less.
You can watch My Fake Boyfriend now on Amazon Prime Video.
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