You Were My First Boyfriend

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You Were My First Boyfriend

2023

1h 37m

Documentary

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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

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.

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

James Croot

The Post NZ

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.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 13, 2024

Full Review

Carla Hay

Culture Mix

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.

Dec 4, 2023

Full Review

Savina Petkova

A Good Movie To Watch

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

Rated: 74/100

Nov 24, 2023

Full Review

Natasha Alvar

Cultured Vultures

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.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 15, 2023

Full Review

Anne Brodie

What She Said

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?

Rated: 3/4

Nov 10, 2023

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Pepper W

This doc is so personal, so heartfelt and cathartic. I feel Cecilia's pain and humiliation and the scars that she carries. In facing her adolescent monsters from a middle aged perspective, she hopes to learn to heal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

Jarr R

Hard watch. Filming some other ladies trauma in a doc about yourself is terrible. She spent all this time focusing on her youth she never grew herself. There was no boyfriend in this.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

bob b

This doc is what Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid would make. It's tonally deaf and no one else is allowed to be a victim in the story except the director. It truly accomplishes nothing. Overall a hard watch.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

Lizzy M

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/14/23

Full Review

Jennifer S

100% home run!! I absolutely loved everything about this movie! It's a much watch for everyone!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

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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

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