Dakota Riley (Jake Holley, looking like a hot hybrid between Jim Carrey and Tig Notaro) rides his bike to a Grindr hookup but panics when the hookup wants to go faster and further than he planned in Benjamin Howard’s coming-of-age feature film, “Riley.”
His Hookup (J. B. Waterman, credited as Obi-Wan Hookup) either doesn’t suspect his “date” is in high school or doesn’t care. But Riley is in his high school, and he’s crushing it. He’s on the football team and hopes to follow in his father’s cleats and go pro.
His father, Carson (Rib Hillis), who is also the high school football coach (Go Eagles!), is living vicariously through his son. The dad is a former athlete who sustained a career-ending injury during his pro years. Carson claims he has no regrets, but he carries the regrets in his eyes.
Riley’s best friend, Jaeden (Colin McCalla), the team quarterback, is bunking in his bedroom, and it’s driving the closeted teen’s hormones into a tizzy, especially when Jaeden decides to rub one out several feet away from our titular hero. Riley’s mom, Miriam (René Ashton), might be picking up clues because she’s growing tired of Jaeden’s continuous sleepovers.
Jaeden convinces Riley to get with Skylar (Riley Quinn Scott). During a double date with Jaeden and his girlfriend-du-jour, Skylar corners Riley on a bluff and demands to know why he hasn’t asked her to go steady. They quickly become a couple, but the audience knows why Skylar is destined for heartbreak. She’s an easy-going girlfriend, but Skylar only makes one small demand: She wants him to cheer her on during an unnamed athletic competition on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in French class, Riley is partnered up with Liam (Connor Storrie), one of the out gay kids, who happens to be besties with his now-girlfriend, Skylar. Screenwriter and director Howard ramps up the stakes.
Riley gets his first blowie from Liam while they’re supposed to be baking a pastry for French class (maybe it’s a Home Ec class taught in French?). Of course, the BJ goes into OT, and he misses Skylar’s athletic competition. It’s the first flag down on the field, and Skylar starts adding up the penalties.
Meanwhile, Riley’s attraction to his best bud grows, and he keeps pushing the boundaries of his friendship with Jaeden in awkward and uncomfortable ways. When both boys come home from a party drunk, Riley caresses his unconscious friend. In other scenes, Jaeden gay-baits Riley into revealing more information than he’s ready to dole out. A couple of these gotcha moments build to an actual gotcha. It’s a sad, desperate moment for Riley, who keeps trying to burrow into the closet while still having an active gay sex life.
Holley is fantastic in the lead role. Holley’s Riley has to walk a tightrope between macho and vulnerable, and he does it with aplomb. The scene when Riley finally comes out to Skylar is written beautifully and executed brilliantly by both actors.
McCalla is a good foil for him. The two have chemistry in their scenes together.
Storrie’s Liam is the one person that calls bullshit on Riley’s actual bullshit. Storrie is a charismatic young actor best known for his surprise role in “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
Waterman’s character offers Riley sage advice befitting of an Obi-Wan. While the actor only appears in one scene, he is interspersed throughout the story and adds some layers to Riley’s trick.
There is plenty of eye candy in “Riley,” Holley and McCalla are shirtless in the locker room, the hot tub, and Riley’s bedroom. Howard lets the camera linger over their taut physiques, and the film teeters on the edge of softcore (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
There is magnificent cinematography by Michael Elias Thomas, replete with tangerine sunsets, sepia-toned close-ups, and the muted indigo of a football game at dusk. Not to mention those long, loving shots of tight torsos, perky pectorals, and succulent six packs.
With football at the film’s center, however, very few pigskins are thrown.
The movie is full of tropes, but it’s interesting seeing the story from the POV of the jock and not the nerd who typically falls for him. It’s a grimmer and grittier “Heartstoppers.”
The dialogue is simple everyday language with a few French words peppered in from Madame Dupont (Caroline Amiguet) and Storrie’s Liam.
This is a drama, and sometimes it takes itself too seriously. Storrie’s character adds a few moments of levity, but Howard’s script is grounded and realistic, reminding us that each person’s Coming Out story is different.
“Riley” screens on Saturday, November 16, at 3:00 PM at the Harris Theater as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. For the full festival schedule, which includes “Riley,” the hotly anticipated Jesse Eisenberg film, “A Real Pain,” and two movies about Pittsburgh sports legend Roberto Clemente, visit FilmPittsburgh.org
