Danielle Solzman
Focused on a lesbian woman coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday, Lez Bomb is the dysfunctional family comedy that we need right now.
The holidays are generally not the best time to announce to your parents that you’re a member of the LGBTQ community. Regardless of which, there’s never a great time to come out and the experience can be terrifying. Even after coming out, the holidays still make for some added stress especially when it’s the first time your family sees you in person. But enough about me, let’s talk about this dysfunctional family comedy!
As several generations come together for Thanksgiving in Ramsey, New Jersey, Lauren Anderson (Jenna Laurenzo) has some very important news. She’s choosing this most stressful of holidays to tell her parents–Rose (Deirdre O’Connell) and George (Kevin Pollak)–that she’s a lesbian. Outside of Lauren’s relationship with girlfriend Hailey (Caitlin Mehner), the relationship with her mom is the most important. If you can’t be honest with your own mother, who then can you be honest with?
The comedy hijinks first ensue when her parents think she’s sleeping with her roommate, Austin (Brandon Micheal Hall). This is because he shows up to the house without as much of a warning. So what happens? Lauren’s parents naturally assume that they’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Things reach a point in which they only get worse for Lauren. Assumptions are made that she’s pregnant or that there’s a love triangle.
Even as Lauren drops this bombshell on them, everyone in her family has their own issues. Whether it’s her cool aunt, Maggie (Elaine Hendrix) or ill uncle, Ken (Rob Moran), they all have their own issues. Because Lauren hasn’t told her family, her brother, John (Davram Stiefler), hits on Hailey much to her dismay. Who doesn’t have an uncle, Mike (Steve Guttenberg), smoking pot in secret? Meanwhile, cinematic treasures Cloris Leachman and Bruce Dern are a coup for this film as Lauren’s paternal grandparents, Josephine and Grandpa. They absolutely nail the performances.
The script, written by star-director Jenna Laurenzo, is a source of non-stop laughter. It’s laughs that America as a whole can really use right now after the darkness of these past few weeks. Whether or not you’re out to family members, Lez Bomb is a must-watch film for members of the LGBTQ community. It may hit close to home for some but that goes without saying. I’ll go even further than that, it’s a must-watch film for everyone!
Many family comedies tend to ignore a segment of the population these days. While members of the LGBTQ community are more likely to resonate with this comedy, there’s no reason why family comedies should continue ignoring us. We’re here. We exist. Please be sure to include us in the stories you tell.
A film that will provide non-stop laughs, Lez Bomb is the modern-day Meet the Parents with an LGBTQ twist.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jenna Laurenzo
CAST: Jenna Laurenzo, Caitlin Mehner, Brandon Micheal Hall, Steve Guttenberg, Elaine Hendrix, Deirdre O’Connell, Rob Moran, Davram Stiefler, A.B. Cassidy, Jordyn DiNatale, Bruce Dern, with Kevin Pollak and Cloris Leachman
