You Were My First Boyfriend

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You Were My First Boyfriend

2023

1h 37m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

What if you could rewrite your adolescence? In this high school reunion movie turned inside out, filmmaker Aldarondo embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile her tortured teen years. She revisits some of her most formative -- and at times cringeworthy -- childhood experiences, tracking down old crushes and reenacting visceral memories of youthful humiliation and desire, at times playing the role of her younger self and casting teenagers to play the kids in her life who still haunt her. Oscillating between present and past, humor and heartbreak, YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND is a hybrid documentary that takes seriously the power of adolescence and the way time impacts memories, exploring what it means to grow up and make peace with the drama of our teenage trauma.

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Claire Shaffer

New York Times

11/08/2023

Despite its title, “You Were My First Boyfriend” is at its most effective when Aldarondo moves beyond teen lust and into the more complicated aspects of her upbringing.

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James Croot

The Post NZ

06/13/2024

4/5

Aldarondo and co-director Sarah Enid Hagey’s approach and style might not be for everyone, but, persevere, and this may offer some of the most thought-provoking and therapeutic viewing of the year.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

12/04/2023

Even though You Were My First Boyfriend is steeped in 1990s nostalgia, the themes in this documentary can be relatable to people of many generations. Filmmaker/narrator Cecilia Aldarondo gives an emotionally honest look at her self-esteem struggles.

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Savina Petkova

A Good Movie To Watch

11/24/2023

74/100

[This] heartfelt doc manages to reflect on the pasts that shape us in a witty way to promote self-acceptance and, ultimately, healing.

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Natasha Alvar

Cultured Vultures

11/15/2023

8/10

Director Cecilia Aldarondo's You Were My First Boyfriend is a fascinating look into our youthful desires and insecurities, and the follies that haunt us.

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Anne Brodie

What She Said

11/10/2023

3/4

Cecilia's "unfinished business" with high school sent her back to re-enact painful scenes as herself, a grown woman in a sea young people, an “emotional exorcism”, relief from the bad feelings she still carries in middle age. Would you go back in time?

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Lizzy M

@RT55247517 11/14/2023

Starts off as a cringy look back at high school life, but quickly evolves into a commentary of life's true values. Well worth the watch.

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Synopsis

What if you could rewrite your adolescence? In this high school reunion movie turned inside out, filmmaker Aldarondo embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile her tortured teen years. She revisits some of her most formative -- and at times cringeworthy -- childhood experiences, tracking down old crushes and reenacting visceral memories of youthful humiliation and desire, at times playing the role of her younger self and casting teenagers to play the kids in her life who still haunt her. Oscillating between present and past, humor and heartbreak, YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND is a hybrid documentary that takes seriously the power of adolescence and the way time impacts memories, exploring what it means to grow up and make peace with the drama of our teenage trauma.

Director: Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
Producer: Cecilia Aldarondo, Ines Hofmann Kanna
Screenwriter: Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
Distributor: HBO
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films, Blackscrackle Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2023
Runtime: 1h 37m