My Summer as a Goth is an independent teen comedy. This feature-length coming-of-age film centers on Jessie (Natalie Shershow), a sophomore who is forced to spend the summer with her grandparents while her mother goes on a book tour. Soon she finds herself intrigued by the charismatic Goth boy next door, Victor (Jack Levis).
Although much of the film revolves around the dynamics of Jessie’s relationship with Victor, it's actually the supporting character Antonio (Eduardo Reyes), a local teen punk, who is revealed to be bisexual. Antonio stands out in the film with his buzz cut and punk-inspired attire, often sporting denim trucker vests or leather jackets adorned with patches over black tees and jeans. He's frequently seen carrying his electric guitar.
Initially, Antonio makes a negative impression, but as the story progresses, we see Victor's true colors, revealing his unkind behavior towards Joey (Natalie Shershow), including dismissing her and flirting with other women. Antonio steps up, displaying kindness and bravery when he protects Joey from antagonistic club patrons. Additionally, we glimpse Antonio kissing another male clubgoer through Joey’s perspective.
The film also depicts Antonio enjoying a happy and romantic moment with the lead character inside a mausoleum, where they discuss how Victor has hurt them both and support each other in finding their true selves. Although Antonio jokes about possibly becoming gay due to reading his mother’s self-help magazines, it's done in a self-deprecating, humorous manner. Joey appears accepting of this humor and ultimately embraces Antonio as her boyfriend, evident in the final scenes where she defends him against a bully and affectionately rests her head on his shoulder while visiting her father’s headstone.
While we only hear secondhand of how unkind Victor was to Antonio while they were involved with each other, ultimately, it is pleasing to see Antonio and Jessie have a sweet romance blossom between the two of them. This ends the film with an atypical dichotomy of bi characters — one manipulative to the point of being controlling and narcissistic (Victor) with another who is at first misunderstood but ultimately kind and understanding (Antonio).
Regarding press interviews, there are not many to be found given either by Levis or Reyes regarding their characters’ queerness, but there is a cast Q&A video where Reyes mentioned he felt a little odd committing his same-sex kiss in the dance club to film, but that it was “part of the script”.
While it’s always refreshing to see a male bi character on the screen. Antonio ultimately feels like a bit of an underwritten part and could have used some more fleshing out (including him using the term “bi” to label himself). Still, it is lovely to see a self-assured bi character who neither struggles with his identity nor experiences conflict when coming out to the main character and instead ultimately gets a loving treatment by the end of the story.