Film Review: CLUB KID: A Movie That’s as Messy as Real Life and as Entertaining as Indie Films Come [NYFF 2026]

Club Kid Review

Club Kid (2026) Film Review from the 64th Annual New York Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Jordan Firstman and starring Jordan Firstman, Reggie Absolom, Colleen Camp, Cara Delevingne, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Sam Wilkes, Jamil Zraikat, Ben Hannon Hubley, Nigil Whyte, Paris Petitjean, John Cameron Kay, Eldar Isgandarov, Miss Benny and Saturn Risn9.

Jordan Firstman has crafted Club Kid, an emotionally moving new dramedy. This is a story that seems simple on the surface, but contains many complexities and insights on the nature of the human condition. Firstman achieves a rare writer/director/lead actor triumph, giving an Oscar nomination-caliber performance as a character named Peter, a fun guy with a rent stabilized New York City apartment. He occasionally sells drugs to make end meets, but likes to hang out in the New York club scene, where he associates with many different members of the LGBTQ+ walk of life. This film opens as it shows the questionable lifestyle of Peter, who soon discovers he has a 10-year-old kid named Arlo (Reggie Absolom) years later. Arlo has been living in the UK, but when his mom meets an unfortunate fate, Arlo arrives to be taken in by dad, Peter.

Some people have compared Club Kid to Big Daddy, a generic 1999 Adam Sandler vehicle. That comparison is totally invalid, as Club Kid has so much more depth, emotion and complexity at its core. Arlo is a sweet kid, who could be persuaded to play video games all day if he weren’t so drawn to his dad, Peter. It turns out that Peter has a lot of wisdom to share with Arlo despite all of Peter’s insecurities, which manifest themselves in the way he lives his sometimes unproductive life

There are many clever and humorous scenes in this new picture. One scene has Peter buying Arlo a $300 Elliott Smith album at a record store, which is an inspired choice of music for Arlo to take an interest in, especially given the parallels between the real-life artist Smith was and Peter as a character. Some of those parallels include the fact that Peter is a bit depressed when we first meet him, which is why having Arlo in his life changes his world for the better.

A hysterical sequence has Arlo saying the curse words, “f–in’ -itch,” and Peter proceeds to scold him for using that phrase until their clever exchanges culminate in Arlo hilariously saying that deragatory term to a female in passing. Arlo DJ’s at the club whenever possible. This is the club where Peter and his friends hang out despite the fact that Arlo isn’t even old enough to be getting into the club, technically, let alone DJ there.

Perhaps, the most memorable of Peter’s friends is the trans, Saffron (a wonderful turn by Saturn Risin9, who steals scenes). People show up at Peter’s place to have a party from time to time, but Peter starts believing he may have to start becoming a better role model for Arlo, so he tries to change with unpredictable results throughout the film.

Firstman takes a character who could have been a loser, and turns him into a vulnerable and passionate man, one that the audience will care about very deeply. Firstman delivers a very layered performance, one in which he does a complete 180 by the time the movie ends. A scene where Peter presents his situation to a judge is particularly heartfelt, and Firstman is exceptional in that sequence and several other parts of the movie as well.

There are some good supporting performances here, but let it be said that Absolom is sensational as the young “club kid,” who trusts in his dad even when the father makes poor choices. It’s a very interesting dynamic between the father and the son and the movie really drives that dynamic home quite satisfactorily. In support, Eldar Isgandarov gets to have some fun in his role here, as his character begins to live with an older lady in Peter’s building with funny results all around.

Club Kid is a little over-the-top at the very start, but that style helps to develop the character of Peter, which also helps show how Peter grows distinctly as a human being over the course of the film. Also shining on-screen is Cara Delevingne as the troublesome Sophie, who opens up a can of worms for Peter that is absolutely unfair to both him and Arlo. When Social Services comes into the storyline, it makes for some emotional scenes that are very real and powerful, to be certain.

It’s almost impossible not to be moved by Club Kid. This film has crowd-pleasing scenes and thought-provoking ones in great quantities. Firstman holds the film together with his utmost sincerity, which is so easy to detect in his amazingly moving performances in this movie. This picture makes very valid points for and against Peter being a permanent dad to his son, but the truth stings and when Peter may have to give up Arlo, there are some heartbreaking moments to be found.

Club Kid is vivid and alive in every scene. Firstman directs his cast with great energy, and this is a masterful performance by the very versatile Firstman, who is quite a talented performer that is always immersed in the finely tuned movie that we have here. This is one film that will tug at your heartstrings in the very hopeful last 10-minutes or so of the picture, which are quite uplifting to experience.

It’s certainly great to be able to rave over the unique Club Kid, a picture with a big heart that never knows how to be conventional, much like the work of Firstman, himself, both behind and in front of the camera. Club Kid is a winning film from the beginning all the way to the heartwarming conclusion.

Rating: 8.5/10

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