Inspired by the true story of Jamie Campbell, a gay, British teenager who was forbidden by his school from wearing a dress to his prom, directed by Jonathan Butterell (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Tom MacRae based on the stage musical of the same name, starring Max Harwood with Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley, Sharon Horgan, and Richard E. Grant is a comming of the age movie. Hubby dear was emotional watching this and got me to see it.
Max and Saraha.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody%27s_Talking_About_Jamie_(film)
In Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, Jamie New is turning sixteen years old. He lives with his single mother Margaret, is the only openly gay kid at school and is frequently bullied because of it. His only friend is Pritti Pasha, also harassed for being Muslim. At school, Year 11 instructor Miss Hedge admonishes the class about having unrealistic career goals, instead wanting to be YouTubers and entertainers. Jamie pretends to agree with her, but secretly he dreams of being a drag queen ("Don't Even Know It"). He admits that he wants to be a performer, but Hedge tells the kids she wants to prepare them for the real world.
Margaret goes to see her best friend Ray to help her prep everything for Jamie's birthday party. Pritti is unable to attend, and at the last minute, Jamie's estranged father Wayne messages Margaret to say he's not going to show up. Jamie arrives and Margaret covers that Wayne couldn't come because of a work emergency, and she gives him a card she lies is from him. Margaret presents Jamie a pair of expensive red high heels that he's been wanting and saving up money for – his first pair. Jamie is disappointed about his father's absence and reminisces about their strained relationship ("Wall in My Head").
At school, Jamie shows Pritti the heels and confesses his desire to be a drag superstar. Pritti is unsure of how she feels about it. Class bully Dean Paxton comes over and insults Jamie and Pritti for their differences, until Jamie fires back with his own retorts. Dean departs and Pritti tells Jamie that he should wear the shoes to prom and be the drag queen he wants to be ("Spotlight").
Margaret goes to see Wayne at his new girlfriend Cheryl's place, and admonishes him for not showing up for Jamie at all on his sixteenth birthday and for not even reaching out. Wayne tells her to stop lying to Jamie then, informing her that Cheryl is pregnant and he's having another boy, that Jamie doesn't need him anymore. He urges her to tell Jamie the truth and to move on with her life.
Jamie finds a drag shop, House of Loco, where he intends to find his first dress. Pritti walks him to the door but tells him he needs to go in on his own, where he finds the shopkeeper Hugo Battersby, who is shocked how young Jamie is. He counsels Jamie on finding his drag persona, explaining that putting on drag gives you power, pointing to a walled photo of drag queen Loco Chanelle. He asks why Jamie wants to be a drag queen, and Jamie explains how it's all he wants to do and has to make it happen. Hugo is thrilled until Jamie reveals his plan to go to prom in drag in six weeks. Hugo reveals he was Loco Chanelle, or used to be, and that his past was filled with a loving drag family that was destroyed when the AIDS epidemic ravaged the community and claimed the life of musician and icon Freddie Mercury ("This Was Me"). Saddened, Jamie leaves.
Jamie tells Pritti that being a drag queen is so much more than just dressing up. Pritti tells Jamie he needs to carry on the legacy, and Jamie and Pritti return to the shop and tell Hugo that Jamie is in. Hugo is excited, has a great dress for Jamie (once Jamie can afford it), and books Jamie a show at drag club Legs Eleven. Meanwhile, Margaret tells Ray about Wayne, and Ray urges Margaret to tell Jamie the truth. Returning home, Jamie excitedly tells them about his show and his plan to go to prom in drag. Although shocked, Margaret continues to support Jamie and tells him how proud she is. He suggests inviting Wayne, and Margaret tells Jamie she'll ask him, knowing full well that Wayne would never support it. Jamie goes upstairs and Margaret sadly admits that she couldn't break Jamie's heart.
Jamie picks up shifts at Ray's bakery and at a nearby convenience store to pay for the dress. At school, Jamie beckons Pritti into the bathroom where he reveals he has accidentally given himself a bad eyebrow job in an attempt to practice. Pritti tries to remedy it but Hedge catches them. Pritti claims it's for an art project, and Hedge says she doesn't want Jamie ruining Pritti's future. When Jamie retorts that at least he has a future, Hedge orders him to return to class with his makeup intact ("Work of Art"). When Jamie arrives in art class, his classmates ridicule him, and he responds by telling them about his drag show, determined not to be shamed ("Work of Art (Reprise)")
After school, Dean calls out Jamie, intending to go to the show and embarrass him. Jamie goes to Legs Eleven and expresses second thoughts, but Hugo surprises him as Loco Chanelle and stops Jamie from leaving. Jamie still doesn't have a drag name, is terrified of Dean and feels he can't do the show. Loco and the other queens give Jamie a makeover ("Over the Top"). Margaret and Ray, along with Dean and his friends, arrive and Margaret sends Jamie flowers that she signs as being from Wayne, which Jamie is thrilled to receive. Just before he goes on, Loco demands Jamie tell him his drag name, and Jamie responds "It's about me. Me. Me!" Loco introduces Jamie as "Mimi Me". Just as Mimi goes out onstage, Pritti arrives. Mimi performs a lip sync number – Dean and the boys heckle him during but are escorted out, and Mimi finishes the number in style.
The next day at school, Year 11 is abuzz about the drag show ("Everybody's Talking About Jamie"). Jamie arrives to class late in dramatic fashion and with make-up, which Hedge orders him to remove, and Jamie refuses. Hedge sends Jamie to the principal, and Dean comes to harass him while he waits. Hedge comes to stop them, and Dean vows he'll never go to prom if Jamie shows up in a dress, leaving school. At a meeting with Principal Masood, Hedge says Jamie can't wear a dress to prom because it's a distraction to the other kids. She says Jamie is a student at the school, not Mimi. Jamie leaves in a huff.
At Pritti's house, Jamie is still upset, but Pritti wants to know why Mimi needs to go to the prom. Jamie says without Mimi, he's ugly, and Pritti says he's stunning and that in Arabic, his name means beautiful ("It Means Beautiful"). Newly confident, Jamie goes to visit Wayne to thank him for the flowers, but Wayne tells Jamie his mother's been lying and that he's done with him.
Jamie returns home, furious at Margaret for lying to him. Margaret is sewing Jamie's dress and Jamie tries to take it from her – it rips. He tells Margaret she ruins everything and to stop trying to live through his life because she doesn't have one. He storms off and Margaret, alone, laments how, despite everything, she loves Jamie and he's her life ("He's My Boy"). Jamie, in an angry and confused downward spiral, gets drunk and sneaks into a local sports game that Wayne is attending, going onto the field in partial drag. He is harassed and physically shoved off the field. Wayne does nothing, instead going back to his seat. Beaten and bloody, Jamie goes to House of Loco, where Hugo fixes him up and informs him he has so much ahead of him.
Jamie comes home and apologizes to Margaret for what he said to her, and she apologizes in return for lying. He asks Margaret if she wishes he was normal, and Margaret insists he is normal and has done nothing wrong. She says she's sorry for Wayne because he's the one who is missing out ("My Man, My Boy"). On prom night, Year 11 prepare for the event. Pritti arrives in makeup and Dean unleashes his cruelty, but this time Pritti stands up to him and points out that tomorrow she'll begin the rest of her life, and he'll be nothing. Dean tries to save face, claiming Pritti can't even get a prom date. At that moment, however, Jamie arrives in a beautiful dress (but not in drag, as himself in a dress).
Hedge admonishes Jamie, that he was not to come in drag, but Jamie didn't come as Mimi, he came as himself in a dress. Hedge says he won't ruin it for the others, but his classmates rally and show their support. Jamie accepts the decision and begins to leave but the kids say if Miss Hedge doesn't let Jamie in, they won't go in. Jamie tells Hedge he's come as himself, as the real Jamie, and Hedge relents and tells Jamie he can go in.
Everyone goes inside but Jamie stops when he sees Dean standing outside by himself. Dean says Pritti is right, and Jamie implores Dean to come in and do a nice thing before it's all over. He leads Dean by the hand back into the dance, and Dean apologizes to Pritti, who accepts. The company celebrates their coming together and supporting each other ("Out of the Darkness (A Place Where We Belong)").
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