Pride Month is almost over, and though we have been treated to higher-profile new releases like Leviticus and Girls Like Girls that spotlight queer characters across a variety of genres, one of the best movies of the year is another queer cult classic in the making…and it’s a comedy!
I first saw She’s the He! as a nominee at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, and back then it had no distribution, nearly a year after its premiere at South by Southwest. Shortly afterward, it was acquired by Obscured Releasing, which is rolling the film’s release out in a roadshow fashion, playing one or two shows in one city before moving on, and eventually looping back around for an encore. It certainly feels like the appropriate release strategy for a film that feels destined for a long shelf life as a queer classic, especially considering just how audacious, exciting, and charming it really is.
The cast and crew of She’s the He! is completely queer, a valuable piece of information to have when considering the premise: two best friends, Ethan (Misha Osherovich) and Alex (Nico Carney) pretend to be trans women so they can get into the women’s locker room, before Ethan realizes that she actually is trans. The two reckon with the implications for their friendship, all while preparing for their graduation and struggling with romantic prospects. It’s a little Superbad, a little Mean Girls, and very, very gay. The perfect, parodic rebuttal to the “trans bathroom panic.”
This raucous high school comedy comes to us courtesy of writer/director Siobhan McCarthy, whose auteur vision could only have come from lived experience. Their chaotic masterpiece makes the most of its low budget, frequently incorporating their limitations into the text of the film (something I wish that more indies would take advantage of!). It feels incredibly earnest, but also willing to poke fun at itself…the sort of “risky indie” that feels designed to scare off most major distributors. That’s okay. They don’t deserve something this proud, exuberant, and unabashedly surreal.
I’m not trans, but I am queer, and my fiancé is trans – that made the viewing experience of She’s the He! all the more engaging, and enlightening in how important it truly is that the trans community is able to see themselves reflected just as clearly in the comedy space as other minority groups. Straight people have had mediocre rom-coms for decades – why haven’t queer and trans people been afforded the same, instead of consistently being the butt of the joke? Bottoms and Red, White and Royal Blue’s popularity pushed queer rom-coms into the 21st century mainstream, and She’s the He! feels like the next evolution of that formula; bolder, louder, but with a sly, knowing perspective that sharpens the moments that make you feel into true gut punches, all while making you laugh yourself silly. The cast is so trans that even some of the douchey, transphobic side characters and bullies are played by trans actors! It feels too good to be true, so we might as well take advantage of it NOW, while it’s on the big screen!
When discussing the underseen gems of 2025, contributor Davis Mathis wrote that She’s the He! is “wacky and uninhibited when it comes to the comedy, and grounded in truth and heart in the exploration of identity.” The film feels like a labor of love from all involved, and I’m thrilled that it’s getting a release that feels appropriate for the place it will soon secure in the filmgoing culture (if it hasn’t already). The entire cast is phenomenal, but Misha Osherovich is a true revelation – the emotional crux of the story is hers, and it would not work nearly as well without her full dedication to this character’s expansive interior and exterior journeys (limited to the scarce 81 minutes of the film’s running time!). Ethan’s sensitive moments are where the film tactfully sheds its campy shell and brings home its point with crushing authenticity all too familiar to many LGBTQIA+ people. The fact that it can and does do both sides of the theatrical coin is even more a credit to the hard work of its delightful cast and crew.
Check out upcoming showtimes and other relevant links here, and stay tuned for more screenings! If it’s nowhere near you, be sure to watch it digitally starting next Tuesday, June 30 (the last day of Pride Month!). If I haven’t persuaded you already, trust me, it’s well worth the watch.
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