Rating:
Let’s Talk About It:
On today’s episode of I Watched It Because of a TikTok,* I’ll be discussing the movie Egghead & Twinkie. And I have to say, it’s a hell of a lot better than the last movie TikTok made me watch.
From what I understand, the movie started off as a short film (which you may or may not be able to watch here). But, as stories often do, it grew into something bigger, transforming itself into an hour-and-twenty-seven-minute feature length film.
I first heard about the movie in 2020 when Sarah Kamble Halland, the writer and director of Egghead & Twinkie, posted a pitch video on the movie’s TikTok account. And because in this house we stan all things LGBTQIA+ and POC, I immediately followed the account.
And…forgot about it.
It wasn’t until last year when an update appeared on my following page that I remembered it was a thing. So I did the next thing a future fan of the film would do – I followed the Instagram account.
But it’s here at last, released as part of Cinejoy Virtual Film Festival.
I bought my ticket (only $3.99 to view the film), hooked up my laptop to my television, and streamed away. And let me tell you that everything Sarah Kamble Holland said in her TikTok is true: The movie is one part Scott Pilgrim, one part The Half of It, and one part Little Miss Sunshine.
Egghead (Louis Tomeo) has a crush on his best friend Twinkie (Sabrina Jieafa). And on the night he shoots his shot, she comes out of the closet. After she comes out of the closet to her parents, Twinkie talks Egghead into driving across the country to meet her extremely secret, online love interest – an Instagram celebrity who goes by the name B.D. (Ayden Lee). What follows is a road trip filled with secrets, lies, confessions, and Jess (Asashi Hirano), whom they meet at a Chinese restaurant.
It’s a slice-of-life tale of two friends coming of age as one is coming out of the closet. The story runs smoothly, and the 2-D animation gives it the feel of a graphic novel. And while it is easy to compare the movie to Scott Pilgrim, let me assure you that the characters are actually loveable despite their flaws and the story is 1000 times better.
If this is the sort of things Sarah Kambe Holland can bring to life, I do look forward to what other tales she plans to tell.
Watch the Trailer:
Movie Details:
Director: Sarah Kambe Holland
Writer(s): Sarah Kambe Holland
Starring: Sabrina Jieafa, Louis Tomeo, Ayden Lee, and Asahi Hirano
Studio: N/A
Release Date: March 1, 2023
Run Time: 1:27
Rated: N/A
Chapin City Blues 