‘Club Kid’ review: Jordan Firstman throws the party of the year

After a string of overhyped yet underwhelming narrative features at the Denver Film Festival (and yes, I am looking at you, “La Bola Negra” and “Possible Love”), “Club Kid” hits you hard like Narcan. Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut is easily the best narrative film I’ve seen at this year’s festival. I laughed constantly, cried multiple times and fell in love hard with these characters.

Firstman, who also wrote the screenplay, plays Peter, a New York party promoter we meet in 2016, getting completely trashed at a party that feels like it might never end. Cut to a decade later, and he’s still going to the same party, which is exactly as sad as it sounds. Then Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) arrives with Arlo (Reggie Absolom), the 10-year-old son Peter never knew he had. Arlo’s mother has died by suicide, and Peter can barely take care of himself, much less a child.

One of their first outings ends with lactose-intolerant Arlo devouring a cheese pizza followed by both him and Peter vomiting in the restaurant bathroom. It’s an incredibly funny scene with fascinating subtext. Arlo is trying to stuff himself with every memory he can make with his father, which is what he spends the rest of the film doing as well. Meanwhile, Arlo eating the pizza he knows will make him sick is a clever mirror of Peter’s behavior, as he has spent his adult life putting things into his body that he knows are bad for him.

“Club Kid” is full of wonderfully specific, textured moments like that pizza scene around the city. Early on, Peter’s neighbor Evelyn (Colleen Camp) announces she’s finally seen “War Horse,” and it’s every bit as good as everyone says. We see Arlo learning how to DJ. Peter flirts with Arlo’s social worker (Diego Calva) in the park. Even Nicky, Peter’s roommate, a slacker who is an aspiring queer philosopher from Azerbaijan, finds an unlikely romance with Evelyn.

Then there are scenes that absolutely wrecked me, particularly one in which Arlo admits he’s sad. Peter awkwardly assures him that it’s OK to be sad in his house, then admits he’s sad all the time because he has no self-esteem. Adam Newport-Berra’s camera lingers on their faces in intimate close-ups, letting the actors sit with their emotions.

Absolom is astonishing, giving Arlo an aching sadness and wisdom beyond his years without losing the little boy underneath. Firstman, meanwhile, delivers a tour de force. He’s hilarious, of course, but there’s a vulnerability here I’ve never seen from him before. You practically watch Peter grow up in real time, and the transformation feels earned.

The plot is definitely formulaic in places, but I think that gives the characterization more room to come through, and you end up rooting desperately for people who make some really bad choices. “Club Kid” also knows you can’t outrun your past: Actions have consequences, sometimes devastating ones, and doing what’s best doesn’t always mean getting what you want.

At 122 minutes, “Club Kid” flies by without a dull moment, moving from outrageous comedy to genuine heartbreak with remarkable ease. It’s one of my favorite films of 2026 and deserves to be in the best picture conversation. I rooted for these messy, deeply lovable people every step of the way, and I know that, like Arlo’s impact on Peter, this film is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.