Freak Show (2017)

Follows the story of teenager Billy Bloom who, despite attending an ultra conservative high school, makes the decision to run for homecoming queen.

Director:

Trudie Styler

Writers:

Patrick J. Clifton (screenplay by), Beth Rigazio (screenplay by)

Stars:

Alex Lawther, Ian Nelson, AnnaSophia Robb

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Lawther	...	Billy Bloom
Ian Nelson	...	Flip Kelly
AnnaSophia Robb	...	Blah Blah Blah
Celia Weston	...	Florence
Walden Hudson	...	Bib Oberman (as Walden Bryan Hudson)
Abigail Breslin	...	Lynette
Daniel Bellomy	...	Bo Bo
Bette Midler	...	Muv
Larry Pine	...	William
Christopher Dylan White	...	Bernard
Willa Fitzgerald	...	Tiffany
Michael Park	...	Principal Onnigan
John McEnroe	...	Coach Carter
Mickey Sumner	...	Dr. Vickers
Wally Dunn	...	Mr. Reamer

Storyline

In the vein of CLUELESS and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, FREAK SHOW tells the moving, heartwarming, and hilarious story of Billy Bloom, a boldly confident, wildly eccentric teenager, who faces intolerance and persecution at his ultra conservative high school, and decides to fight back on behalf of all the misunderstood freaks of the world by running for the title of homecoming queen.

---

Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | indie movie | two word title | high school | high school drama | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Цирк уродов

Filming Locations:

Mill Neck Manor, Mill Neck, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$18,216, 8 February 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maven Pictures, Flower Films (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laverne Cox and Lorraine Toussaint previously co-starred in Orange Is the New Black (2013).

---

Quotes

[First lines]
Billy Bloom: Sometimes, I dream I can fly. But I'm *so* exhausted from flapping my wings and the higher I soar, it reminds me of how little I fit in with them on the ground. So, I rise and I rise and... I realize that I don't wanna fly anymore. They never knew what they were looking up at anyway.

---

Crazy Credits

AnnaSophia Robb is credited as Blah Blah Blah instead of Mary Jane.

---

Connections

References Glee (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Electric Love
Written by Børns (as Garret Borns), Tommy English, Nick Long and Joshua Moran
Performed by Børns

User Reviews

Tolerance

Definitely a contrast in values. A filmed hyperbole of a lone gay high school student (Bloom) challenging most everyone, but in this case mostly school mates, for the right to be himself. Represented by the two sides divergent lines: "Let's make America great again." vs. "Love who you are going to love." Basic film themes were understanding & tolerance. An aside, if you make it to the end I'm not quite sure about the honesty of the election results. The only script criticism I would have is that both sides (Bloom vs. family & schoolmates) in this mini-war should understand the challenges of the other side. Great acting; costumes. Another tolerance film recently released is "In Between", dealing w/Palestinian religious/cultural issues.