'I Saw The TV Glow' Movie Review-Was it any good?

I'm currently off work due to an injury and have time to catch up on movies I found interesting. 'I Saw the TV Glow' was praised by movie fans on TikTok, which made me curious.

It is available on HBO Max, and I checked it out.

The movie has these two characters, Owen and Maddy, played by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, respectively.  They are big fans of this TV show called 'The Pink Opaque.'  This show has X-files and Supernatural vibes but in a YA(young adult)setting with a monster/freak-of-the-week scenario.

What I enjoyed about the movie:

I loved the character's fandom over the show.  As a movie fan, getting together with movie friends and co-workers and discussing a favorite show is one of my joys in life.

I enjoyed the scene where Owen sees the Pink Opaque in his adult years; it doesn't seem as attractive or cool anymore. Many of us can relate to this.  Transformers cartoons from the 80s play on repeat on YouTube, and I have trouble sitting through an entire episode, as opposed to when I was a boy; it kept me fully engaged for their 24-minute+ runtime.

There's another scene when Owen is questioned about his sexuality when he and Maddy reunite in high school.  She asks him whether he likes boys or girls, and he says he likes the show.  I loved that. There's peer pressure in high school to date, but it's just not in the cards for all of us. We probably dressed terribly because that was all our parents could afford, or we had low self-esteem. After all, maybe we've been rejected or laughed at by other students.  I speak from experience because I was a 'late' bloomer when it came to relationships with the opposite sex.  It happened in my early 20s than in my teens.

Owen has a strong emotional tie to Maddy because they share their love for this show, and he spends all his time watching this show and associating these intense emotions with her, to which I can also relate.  Meeting someone in your life who introduces you to something new can often become a part of your personality forever—bonding you to the person, in a way, for years to come.

The final thing that I enjoyed was that he felt that he was different from everyone else, which gave him confidence issues that are apparent throughout the movie.  As the film unravels throughout Owen's life, you can tell he has difficulty making eye contact with others and is meek.   I, too, have often felt different from everyone else.  Don't we all, at some time or another?

What I didn't like:

The movie loses me in the 2nd act, where the events of the show happen to them in real life.  There are scenes when Owen has his head stuck in the TV, and he's vomiting these weird, colorful TV graphics. The movie portrays Owen's(Justice Smith)father as a villain without much explanation.  This did not work for me, and I found it off-putting.  I wanted to stop watching at this point.

I enjoyed the fandom, the connection between the characters, and some of the messages told in the movie, but the narrative taking the turn that it did brought it down for me. This was a 5 out of 10 for me.  

Have you seen 'I Saw the TV Glow?'  Please post your thoughts below.  Thanks for watching/reading.

YouTube version.