IMDb Reviews About Myself
words by Adrian Alora, art by Mariam Seshan
2023 ~ R ~ 2h 07m
A student at the University of Virginia rediscovers their identity with the help of a Filipino student organization and a semi-debilitating marijuana addiction.
Director Adrian Alora
Writers Adrian Alora
Stars Adrian Alora ~ Organization of Young Filipino Americans
| Storyline
In the midst of the lockdown during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adrian Alora—a Filipino-American teenager from Northern Virginia—leaves home for the first time as he begins college at the University of Virginia. Although he is initially scared that he won’t make friends due to his social anxiety, his worries fade as he immediately makes friends through the Organization of Young Filipino Americans (OYFA) and shitposting on his Twitter account. During his time at college, Adrian deals with a multitude of challenges, ranging from embracing his sexuality and gender expression, to feeling ostracized within group settings, to being uncertain about his future career prospects. Throughout these endeavors, Adrian attempts to discover his purpose in life and develop a sense of identity while trying to meet the demands of his family and friends.
Tagline [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted]
Genre Coming of age
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA) Rated R for some sexuality, drug use, and language throughout
| User Reviews
☆ 8/10 I wish Adrian could see what others see in him
logicthinker2024 5 November 2023
One of my favorite aspects about this film was how we get to see how Adrian gets to grow once he was able to express himself on his own terms. When you first meet Adrian, he initially seems like the life of the party: always high on an edible, always at Survivor Hour every Thursday at Bilt, or always hosting house parties. You get the point.
However, I appreciate we get to look beyond the surface and watch how Adrian grew to this point. One of my favorite scenes is when Adrian lied to his parents about getting his ears pierced, only to get a septum piercing instead. While some may see this moment as just another act of teenage rebellion, for Adrian, getting his septum pierced was a way for him to reject heteronormative norms of self-presentation. With his sexuality and gender being such an essential aspect of his identity, it was really interesting to see how he transforms from a closeted, repressed teenager to a confident leader in his communities.
While this isn’t a criticism of the film per se, I wish that Adrian could see in himself what others see in him (as the title of my review suggests). For someone who sees himself as a lazy stoner who doesn’t apply himself, it’s pretty clear that the rest of his community sees all the hard work he has put in, whether it be tackling a DMP thesis project or fostering a community within OYFA. Even if he feels like he’s failing in life, I hope he recognizes that he has everything he needs to succeed within himself.
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☆ 10/10 Me when I’m also a a Reveluv who is a stoner
reveluv0207 9 November 2023
he loves Red Velvet and he loves smoking weed? he’s sooooooo real for that #bongoyfa
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☆ 4/10 Adrian is much more of a loser than he presents himself
regular_uva_student 8 November 2023
What is everyone seeing in Adrian that I’m not? He acts as if he has everything figured out,, but when you think about it, he’s a lazy loser who overcompensates for the fact that he has no drive and direction in life. This could not be more evident than the scene where he decides to drop his thesis. He lectures about how he’s overburdened, but look at me! I’m able to hold six leadership positions in 4 organizations, I have 3 summer internships, I have a 6.4 GPA, I secured a $150k job right after college, AND I’m still able to do a thesis. He just doesn’t try hard enough; I don’t know why all his friends and family give him grace. This is America; he shouldn’t expect to be given handouts.
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☆ 10/10 I want to experience a party at Trap!
regular_uva_student_2 10 November 2023
Unlike the other regular_uva_student, I can recognize that Adrian is putting in work at UVA, even if it may not be through typical means. Sure, Adrian might seem like a caricature of a typical college party animal, but what I see (and what I hope others see in Adrian) is that he recognizes that there is more to life than school and work. My favorite scene was where Adrian went into his room and teared up after a girl told him that his parties helped her meet some of her closest friends in OYFA. With the turbulent first and second years that Adrian had at UVA, I can feel the same sense of closure he did when he finally felt that he was contributing to OYFA for once.
With all that said, I would not want to live at Trap. The floor is constantly sticky, the AC never works because his landlord is lazy, there is more liquor in the house than actual food, and he somehow manages to lose everything in the bushes? If Adrian chose to live at Trap for three years, then something about Trap appeals to him that I’m missing.
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☆ 7/10 they’re so #real but god damn he needs to stop smoking weed
adrians_immune_system 10 November 2023
i totally understand what it feels like to carry bongoyfa on their back, but adrian’s dad is correct that they needs to stop smoking. because there’s no reason for adrian to get sick three times a semester when they could totally avoid getting sick by not smoking from his bong 24/7. at least he doesn’t have a nicotine addiction like the rest of his friends
ranking the adrian alora/trap bongs:
mario bong
pink pineapple bong
the pink bubbler his friend gave them (+1 for having the smoothest hits out of this list)
the gravity bong that trap shared but only changed the water bottle twice throughout spring semester
holographic prism bong
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☆ 10/10 Adrian Alora, the next great Asian American writer? 👀
hanni_bias_123 7 November 2023
As someone who also considers themselves super shy (stream Get Up by NewJeans), my favorite parts were when Adrian would discuss writing poetry and music. As someone who seems energetic and friendly to his friends, I relate heavily to how Adrian writes poetry and music as a way to express his deepest fears and insecurities that he wouldn’t (or can’t) verbalize. My favorite scene was when he published “A Fourth Year Invoice” to Invisible Magazine for the first time, finally sharing his most vulnerable thoughts and beliefs to the outside world. I’m surprised that he was surprised that everybody loved his piece, but you could tell just by watching him that he felt gassed up that everybody was taking his art seriously. If he ever decides to make a sequel, I wish that he has grown more as an artist: creating and writing no matter how “bad” he thinks his work is, and maybe actually producing and working on that mixtape he keeps thinking about.
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