Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt)

Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) is a tiny little miracle of a movie. What I expected going in was a funny little piece of lesbian comedy fluff with zero nutritional value. This is somewhat true except the last part. Ellie and Abbie has a surprising, poignant emotional centre. This, in addition to its genuinely funny jokes, makes it one of the most moving and successful WLW comedies I’ve seen.

Ellie and Abbie is about high school student Ellie who wants to ask her crush, Abbie to the school dance. Pretty straight forward, right? Not so much. After Ellie comes out to her mother, she is gifted with a fairy godmother, a dead LGBTQ* relative who shows to help her navigate queer life. For Ellie, this takes the form of her dead Aunt Tara. Ellie takes the existence of a ghost in her life pretty well but doesn’t think much of Tara’s advice. Plus, with or without Tara’s intervention, Ellie can’t stop putting her foot in her mouth when it comes to talking to her funny and understanding crush.

Ellie and Abbie is very aware of how things have progressed for queer people and especially teens in recent years. One of the reasons Ellie spurns Tara’s advice is because she finds it outdated. At the beginning of the film, Ellie is quick to assert that she’s not different or weird. There’s five other openly gay kids in her class. It’s of course, brilliant progress that this is the case. But as the film points out, that doesn’t mean the job is done. Ellie’s ability to be one of several out kids in her school is new and thanks to the work done by the previous generation. Moreover, every teenager regardless of sexuality probably could use a little guidance. Kids of any sexuality at that age are romantic disasters.

While the film starts as just a quirky comedy about a teen romance and a helpful ghost, the second act really punched me in the face emotionally. Ellie learns that her aunt was an LGBTQ* activist and that a hit and run at a protest caused her death. The film pivots exceptionally from light comedy into a period of serious emotional poignancy that made me cry.

Then, it effortlessly pivots back into being a sweet teen romcom only now it has additional weight. This initially fluffy narrative of Ellie asking out her crush is given weight by focusing on the previous generation of queer people and activists who allowed it to happen. What a miracle it is that this young girl knows who she is and can be open and happy about it! It really allows us to celebrate what Ellie’s silly crush represents in terms of progress. It’s also just a case of queer people have gone through so much and they deserve a sweet, funny teen romance, dammit!

The general awareness of queer politics, progression and representation takes this from a good comedy to a great one. The film is still very much a comedy and clocks in at under 90 minutes. Despite this, the film still touches on themes of representation, homophobia, the potential trauma of coming out even in the modern day. I’m genuinely baffled about how much depth writer/director Monica Zanetti managed to get into a film that’s still unavoidably a silly comedy.

I loved Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt). This is an exceptional piece of queer comedy and queer cinema. It’s perky, upbeat and has dialogue that got several laughs out of me. Yet it also has an emotional, touching second act. This makes the comedy hit all the harder by the third act as its given weight beyond just silly jokes. This is a truly exceptional little movie that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Overall rating: 8.7/10

Other WLW films in similar genres