Hulu’s Crush hits the right notes as a teen romantic comedy

As far as teen romantic comedies go, Hulu’s Crush hits all the right notes to be a fun, light-hearted movie. The story surrounds Paige, an artist hoping to attend a Cal Arts summer art program. Her initial problem comes from a frustratingly vague prompt: in the medium of your choice, create your happiest moment.

The concept is unsurprising but still tricky and typical enough to be asked on any college application. But, what is Paige’s happiest moment? Although she goes through different versions of her coming-out story to her mother and best friend, Dillon, neither sparks the exhilaration of her most joyous moment. But, although Paige’s desire to go to Cal Arts is an overarching plot, Crush, at its heart, is a love story.

Paige has had a years-long crush on her classmate, Gabriela. But, Paige is not at her smoothest when attempting conversation, making comments about Gabriela’s locker and spouting fun facts about animals when she is nervous.

However, Crush gets going when the Principal and Track Coach believe Paige is KingPun, an artist leaving graffiti all over school. Paige had already decided to show up to track try-outs to get close to co-captain Gabriela. She used that to her advantage to talk her way out of a suspension. However, that is only half the deal. The other half has Paige on the hunt to find the true identity of KingPun.

But, Gabriela is not the only track captain. When the Coach determines that Paige needs extra help, he teams her up with Gabriela’s twin sister AJ to have AJ train Paige. Through track practices and searching for the real identity of KingPun, the central romance comes through as Paige finds herself falling for AJ.

Crush tackles the complexities of first crushes and first love while capturing the joy of those same things through Paige’s actions as she strives to work through her feelings for each sister. Between the developments of the primary and supporting characters, everyone feels like real people going through genuine life conflicts.

Unsurprisingly, Paige’s feelings for AJ become her source of inspiration for the art prompt. Paige does not have one but several happiest moments surrounding falling for AJ.

Crush keeps its story funny and light, exploring the happiness of being an LGBTQIA+ teenager. The movie keeps itself upbeat by surrounding its central characters with openness and acceptance from the rest of the student body. Paige and AJ’s finale kiss even earns excited cheers from their classmates.

The movie avoids being a coming-out story, emphasizing its identity as a coming-of-age love story.