I saw this movie without a clue what it was about. I had just been given the cover and glanced at the front, believing it to be a comedy in the likes of American Pie and such.Well, after getting over the initial surprise about what this movie was actually about, I found it to be nice anyway. It tells a good story and you can easily follow the characters and understand their personalities.The cast was good and it had some nice supporting roles as well. Especially the parents, they were well cast and did a great job bringing their roles to life.The movie is uplifting and have fun moments, but I don't believe it is the type of movie that you will watch more than once.

Canadian director Amnon Buchbinder's coming of age comedy Whole New Thing is an engaging look at an intellectually precocious 13-year old boy who develops a crush on his gay English instructor. Set in rural Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, newcomer Aaron Webber is outstanding as the quirky Emerson Thorsen whose attraction to his teacher Don Grant (Daniel McIvor) threatens to create serious problems for the teacher, the school, and his clueless parents. While the film delves into unconventional subject matter such as nocturnal emissions and causal sex in washrooms, Buchbinder deals with these topics in a matter of fact way without taking any narrative or stylistic risks.Rather than continue with home schooling where he seems deficient in key subjects, Emerson's free-spirited parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy), enroll their gifted son in the local high school. Emerson has written what looks like a 500-page Hobbit novel and has knowledge far beyond the reach of his rural classmates but is lacking in social and emotional maturity. Looking sexually androgynous with hair coming down his face and a touch of lipstick, he is bullied by his classmates and sneered at when he proposes that the teacher throw away the book they are reading (Snowboard Snowjob) in favor of Shakespeare.He naively pursues his teacher Don, a gay man, but seems to have no understanding of how his actions are putting his teacher in jeopardy. Buchbinder throws in some undeveloped subplots about Kaya having an affair with a local worker and Don thinking about reconciling with a former lover but the characters are paper-thin and the stories do not come to life. Though Whole New Thing brings some insight into the confusion of an adolescent waking up to sexual ambiguity, I found the relationships unpersuasive and lacking in reality. Aaron Webber, however, is definitely a talent to watch and the haunting score by David Buchbinder, the director's brother, using Arabic, Celtic, African, and rock melodies, played on a group of exotic instruments, is worth the price of admission.

Whole New Thing is just the kind of movie missing from popular cinema these days. It's unabashedly breaches touchy subjects that make most audiences squirm in their seats with a grace and artistry that pulls you in from the opening shot. Then again, if you're a homophobe or even a conservative, to generalize, then Whole New Thing might be a little TOO new for you. But then , so are most indie movies. With a beautifully written script wrought with humor that doesn't shy away from...well anything, and fantastic acting from an amazing cast, the best part of this movie is Aaron Webber as Emerson Thorsen, the main character. He fits this character without a single flaw, and it's very hard not to fall in love with him. Daniel McIvor also delivers a wonderful performance as Don Grant, Emmerson's English teacher at his first public school, after being home schooled all his life by his parents in the wilderness of good ol' Nova Scotia. As Emmerson learns that he is gay, and develops a crush on Don, who is still hanging in the closet, he has to deal with his other students' preconceived notions towards the gay population, namely in being bullied. Eventually, it becomes Don who has to come to terms with Emmersons crush, and his own homosexuality. Whole New Thing is just that; an entirely new thing, unlike any film out there today, and it does a miraculous job of it too. The sad thing is its indie status. Most people won't ever see this, or even hear of it. My fingers are crossed for a DVD release. If it's possible, go see it NOW.

Whole New Thing is a delightfully quirky film that is part Gay coming of age story, part love story, and part character study. The film focuses around Emerson, a free-thinking quirky 13 year old kid. Home schooled all his life, his parents decide to put him into public school just so he could get a change in life. Emerson quickly falls into a crush with his English teacher. The teacher, even though he is gay himself, is smart enough to realize that having an affair with an underage student would be a real stupid thing to do. But Emerson doesn't realize this, and lust, turns to heartbreak, to revenge, The kid actor who plays Emerson, Aaron Webber, is astonishing in a gutsy, risk-taking role. He plays this role with gusto and abandon. He reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite (cough, I haven't seen this film) only with a queer bent. The whole cast shines here though,. Dan McIvor, I usually love everything he does, he's one of Canada's most unheralded actors. The others I haven't really heard of, but everyone does a great job here. This film will probably play heavily on the gay and lesbian film festival circuits, so catch it if you can.