Unfolding over the course of Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past.

Ponyboi bursts off the screen in this bombastic, edgy, and campy roller-coaster ride of a film. Flipping the script on the LGBTQIA+ return home tale and the classic Jersey mobster saga, this neon-soaked story is not only full of action but also pure moments of tenderness. Complicated and hilarious, Ponyboi’s journey exposes a kaleidoscope of ways humanity is sugary sweet under hard surfaces. Backdrops of laundromats, diners, and the Jersey Shore create a heightened sense of place and time that is at once precisely transportative and fantastically imaginary.

Director Esteban Arango returns to the Sundance Film Festival after his feature film debut in 2020 with Blast Beat. His signature liveliness, energy, and Latinx lens are present and blossoming in this sophomore effort. Writer, producer, and star River Gallo delivers a thrilling performance and a ripe emotional foundation that absolutely sings. Arango and Gallo’s creative collaboration is as entertaining as it is emotionally graceful.—AH