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In Todd Flaherty‘s Chrissy Judy, friendship is beyond anything you can imagine. It’s platonic, intense, and there’s nothing romantic about it. If you understand how the dynamics work in the setting set up by Flaherty’s script, you may be in a position to start down this necessary path. When the film begins, you feel like an outsider in the conflict between two strange men who are united because friendship in their community demands it. As the film slowly moves towards Judy’s self-discovery, it’s not about getting to know their surroundings better. It’s simply that Flaherty wants the human element to prevail over any other references that might distract from what you really need to see. Flaherty evolves alongside his film, ultimately creating an artistic expression that speaks broadly to loneliness in a world that rarely acknowledges it.

Chrissy Judy It tells the story of Judy and Chrissy, two strange men whose relationship is solid. They even do a drag queen show as a duo and share almost everything in their lives. However, this does not mean that they are happy. Chrissy decides to travel to Philadelphia with her boyfriend, which shocks Judy. The first question is “what about the show?”. Chrissy decides to follow her instincts and leave New York City. Until this moment, we are convinced that this is “Chrissy’s movie”, an exploration of what she dares to experiment.

But then it becomes Judy’s. Chrissy’s departure sends Judy into a spiral of doubt and worry. He just doesn’t know how to be alone. When looking for other people’s companionship, he does it awkwardly and almost aggressively. Chrissy’s phone call doesn’t help. The solo show isn’t working, and neither is his attempt to find love in the strangest places. Maybe you should just look in the mirror and see it as the only thing that matters in a two-person, one-person environment. When Judy meets Chrissy and realizes the current circumstances, she turns the other way and decides to be herself.

Flaherty writes, directs and acts. He’s solid in his role as a lonely weirdo whose safe space is too empty. But this time, growth feels necessary. You know you are facing an opportunity you never thought possible. Is it time to be an average member of society who works all day, reads before bed and lies alone in the dark of night? The sexual encounter is part of this forced journey to find himself and his essence, and in the end it is definitely not what he wanted.

It is, after all, a film about reckoning and embracing reality. A reality that isn’t as loud as the music in the clubs or as hot as a chance encounter in the weird underworld. The reality sometimes is that you find the truth when you talk to your friend and you are able to see them for who they really are. It may not have been what they wanted, but it was what life held for them at a crucial moment. Judy was a broken person at first, leaning on the dreamy hum of a ferry noise and closing her eyes as she felt Judy’s presence beside her. Guess whose shoulder Chrissy ends up looking for?

Founder of Screentology. Member of OFCS. RT rated critic
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