Reid Miller.
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Just in time for back to school comes “Almost Popular,” a charming — especially for its intended age group — high school comedy opening Aug. 28 at the AMC Theatres in Cherry Hill, N.J. and Neshaminy, PA. The film chronicles the efforts of two sophomores, Susie (Ruby Rose Turner) and Bobbie (Reid Miller), to become “cool kids.” But Susie, who often puts her foot in her mouth, and Bobbie, who likes to put his foot in stroppy heels, are deemed “pathetic losers” by the popular (read: mean) girls, led by Queen Bee, Vicki Reinhard (Ellodee Carpenter).
When one of Vicki’s besties Renee (Isabella Ferreira of “Love, Victor”) secretly teaches Susie and Bobbie how to behave at a classmate’s party or prepare for the Pink Prom, the uncool teens gain a much-needed boost of self-confidence. However, after a video of Bobby in drag goes viral, he finds a way to turn something meant to shame him into something empowering. (He might even find Prince Charming.)
Miller, who also played queer in “Joe Bell” a few years ago, is terrific here, providing amusing reaction shots and heartfelt speeches. He also delivers pratfalls with aplomb. The actor spoke with PGN about making “Almost Popular.”
What were you like as a teenager? Were you cool in high school?
When I was growing up, I had a very hard time in school being bullied. I had a tendency to fight [my bullies] and get into trouble. Then I started homeschooling. I’ve also encountered my fair share of bullies on sets, but I’ve been fortunate to grow out of that as I’ve gotten older.
Bullying seems to be a theme in both “Almost Popular” and your previous film, “Joe Bell.” What observations do you have about that topic?
Why do you have to put other people down because you feel a certain way about yourself? I have never understood it, and I think it’s very sad. “Joe Bell” was one of the reasons why I was excited to be a part of that project — to tell Jadin’s story, and also make that movie for a younger me and other people experiencing that [bullying]. This film, “Almost Popular,” does a good job of telling an anti-bullying message that is not so dark. It is fun and a little campy.
Aside from being an up-and-coming movie star, what makes you cool now? Or are you decidedly uncool — which can be cool?
I think I’m decidedly uncool. I feel like an old person sometimes. I have this granddad mentality where I don’t understand social media. I would rather sit on my front porch drinking coffee while writing and planning my next project. I’ve never viewed myself as cool. Every time I get cast in a project that I think is cool, I have a little bit of imposter syndrome. Sometimes, I think I should view myself a little bit cooler than I do just to have a little more love for myself in general. I don’t think I’m that cool, but maybe one day.
What thoughts do you have about Bobbie’s friendship with Susie? She accepts him, but rather than embrace being the alternative kids, they want to be popular. Why does being popular matter? What motivates their need to fit in when they can stand out?
Bobbie is a people pleaser and a giver, and he doesn’t care nearly as much about being popular as Susie does. But because he loves Susie with all of his heart — she is the only person in his life who truly accepts him, sexuality and all — he’s made it his mission to give her the world. When she gets on this “I want to be a popular girl” train, I don’t think he ever quite buys into it. But as they start to gain popularity, he enjoys the attention. He wants to be loved and cherished like everyone else. As they go down this rabbit hole, he realizes how he has been behaving and it’s a complete reality check for him. He has a cool arc that is not traditional for young adult comedies.
From left, Reid Miller and Ruby Rose Turner in ‘Almost Popular.’
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Bobbie is not ashamed of who he is, but he also wants to be the one to tell people who he is. I like that his character’s sexual identity is not an issue for him. What did you think of how this aspect of his character was portrayed?
That was a really big talking point between me and Nayip, the director, and Pamela Duffy-Little, the writer. It’s never explicitly stated where he lands in the spectrum, but he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I found it beautiful that he didn’t have himself completely figured out. For me, that was the justification why he wasn’t open about it. He didn’t want everyone to know because he doesn’t quite fully know completely where he lands. It affects how I played Bobbie and embodied him, but him not being fully able to label himself is special.
There are a lot of kids, and even adults, who are discovering they are LGBTQ+. They may not know what exactly they are, or who exactly they are. Bobbie is in that same position. At the prom, he is making a statement that “I am this,” while still not being exactly clear about what it is. I hope that young adults, or adults, who are discovering that they are this way, find that in Bobbie, and feel reassured they are not alone in that. It’s OK to still be figuring it out. What matters is you have your one person, like Bobbie has Susie, who gets you and doesn’t have to put you in a box and make you pick a specific label until you are ready. You discover that for yourself with the help of the people who love and support you. I hope this film gives folks courage and makes them feel less alone.
Speaking of feeling less alone, I wanted Bobbie to have a strong love interest. I want him to become a queer role model. How did you see this side of his character?
Hopefully, we get to make another film and continue the story. It would be really awesome to find these characters again in college. That would give us the opportunity to find Bobbie in a place where he is confident who he is and more decided. That would allow us to have a more structured and stronger love interest for him. We get a little bit of that, but I wish there was more of that in this film. I think he’s uniquely layered in a way that I don’t think most characters in films like this are.
You have some amusing reaction shots and physical humor/slapstick. What can you say about developing your timing for this broad comedy?
When I first started acting, I only wanted to do drama and super serious stuff. I did “Joe Bell,” which I am so immensely proud of, and “Accused,” which was also super dark, but I also did a show called “Play By Play,” which ran three seasons. I was the lead, and it was this slapstick humor. I love physical comedy. Jim Carrey is one of my favorite actors, and Buster Keaton. I was super excited to do this movie as I saw an opportunity to be super weird and super goofy and do slapstick and they let me play with it.
The film is also about confidence and how you present yourself. Where do you get your confidence? How do you present yourself? You don’t want to be pigeonholed.
I have my own production company, and my big goal is to act, write, direct — depending on the project would determine the role I would take. In terms of confidence, I try my absolute best to be myself. I spent so much time growing up hiding who I am because I got bullied. I’m 25. Am I really going to spend the rest of my life letting other people dictate how I am going to live my life and how I enjoy my life? Or am I going to be loud and proud about who I am? I think the confidence element comes from me having learned to accept self and love those parts about myself and be open about that.
The post Reid Miller on being ‘Almost Popular’ and growing beyond bullies appeared first on Philadelphia Gay News.