Pride 2: My fake boyfriend.

- My Fake Boyfriend. (2022, dir. Rose Troche)

Andrew, a successful stunt coordinator, has been dating a famous soap opera star for years —and has repeatedly attempted to break up with him, only to inevitably bounce back. This time his friends have an unusual suggestion: Inventing a boyfriend through the use of Deepfake technology. The consequences of this little farce will reach much, much higher than anyone could have guessed…

Sweet gay romantic comedy that, like so many rom-coms, often touches on more complicated subjects than its interested in exploring. The notion of a fiction that becomes an object of adoration across the world is a common archetype seen in a lot of tales (and frankly, in real life too). In this case, there is a theme of the excesses of technology and social media that sometimes appear to have become the true religion and drug choice of the current times. But in this movie, that is only the background to present an initially sad story of a man repeatedly trying to get out of a toxic relationship while not entirely noticing the way other people in his life are themselves trying to control him. 

Because it is a rom-com, it is ultimately optimistic —in the end, true love solves most problems and the rest become almost non-important. Other hints of a more complicated story lurking beneath the surface (such as the intimation that Andrew’s best friend himself desires Andrew and has since childhood) are somewhat glossed over. 

Yet on the whole it’s a very entertaining affair, and certainly delivers what it promises. 

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