Final Rating: 4.5/5
In Jordan Firstman’s incredible debut feature film, Club Kid, a thirty-something gay club promoter learns that he has a 10 year old son who he must suddenly take care of after the boy’s mother has taken her life.
Peter (Firstman) runs a successful party promotion for the gay community with his business partner Sophie (Cara Delevingne), but he can’t seem to keep his drug habit in check leading to him showing up to meetings with no sleep and still high from the night before. After Sophie cuts him loose, Peter doesn’t think his life could get much worse. Just then a British woman named Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) appears in his apartment with a child she is claiming is his and he needs to take care of him.
Immediately Peter wants nothing to do with this boy, Arlo (Reggie Absolom). Peter can barely take care of himself and doesn’t know the first thing about child rearing. He does decide to use this as a wakeup call for himself though.
Firstman does a great job of showcasing the highs and lows of gay club culture. The community, the friendships, the art scene are all welcoming and accepting to everyone. It of course is contrasted by the soulless hook up culture, the rampant drug use and peer pressure over taking care of oneself. It’s easy to see what an intoxicating lifestyle Peter lives, where every night there is a party to go to and you always have people around you.
The film is filled with heartfelt performances, anchored by Jordan Firstman and Reggie Absolom who believable build up a bond from strangers to blood. The supporting cast keep the film from getting too serious as they bring plenty of charm and laughs, including Eldar Isgandarov as couch surfer Nicky (who also steals the show in The Debut), Saturn Risin9 as Saffron, a DJ, the iconic Colleen Camp as Evelyn, Peter’s neighbour, and Deigo Calva as Oscar, a social worker helping Peter and Arlo.
The lush cinematography lures you into the comforting world that Firstman has built, the queerness is bold and unapologetic and the clubs all feel incredibly lived in. As the tension mounts as Peter tries to change his life and be a good parent in the face of adversity, it breaks your heart. It tugs at your emotions, but never feels false or manipulative.
Club Kid is a monumental film that will likely be in awards contention all season, and it predicts a bright future for Firstman as a filmmaker and performer.
Club Kid was seen during the 2026 Vancouver International Film Festival.
