‘Trash Mountain’ overview: A Gay Man Returns to His Conservative Hometown in a Warm, Perceptive Indie Comedy-Drama
Being queer in a red state is a uniquely painful and complicated experience. And when you add inescapable parental dysfunction, leaving home can feel like a great escape. So when Gavin (Caleb Hearon) gets an urgent call from his hometown in Missouri, his dread is immediate. Moments before, he was surrounded by his chosen family as they walked together on the Chicago streets after a raucous drag show. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and he was planning to spend it there, in a bubble of queer love.
But, unfortunately, Gavin’s father has died and his half-sister Abbi (Zooey Deschanel) needs him to come home. And though Gavin wants to leave as soon as he possibly can, there’s too much work to be done. Their late father was a hoarder, and it’s now their job to clean up the mess he made of his life. Joined by their grandmother (Jacki Weaver) and Abbi’s husband (Kyle Marvin), they are tasked with going through the crowded house and clearing everything out. And because it’s close to the holidays, they have to wait for the busy sanitation workers to remove the growing mountain of trash on his father’s lawn.
Their father, who is only shown in pictures instead of flashback, was a complicated man. They describe him as a guy who loved guns too much to be a Democrat, but supported his gay son enough to never register as a Republican. He stood up for his children in public, but he was also a fall-down drunk with few concrete parental instincts behind closed doors. Gavin and Abbi are forced to balance their trauma with understandable anger — they deserved a happier childhood than they got. Even though their father was sick, his problems were never theirs to solve. A kid can only do and understand so much.
Trash Mountain is the fifth feature from director and former actress Kris Rey, and her first since the 2020 Gillian Jacobs-starring vehicle I Used to Go Here. Based on the script by Hearon and co-writer Ruby Caster, the film is a welcome return for a director whose warm, understated work has often been overlooked. (This is especially true in comparison to the work of her former husband and collaborator Joe Swanberg.) But Rey has always had her own unique directorial voice, most notably in her underrated 2015 film, Unexpected. Trash Mountain has a laundry list of producers, all lending a hand to what was obviously a labor of love as well as a perfect starring role for the talented and hilarious Hearon.
As Gavin tries to deal with being a gay man back in his conservative hometown, he begins a romance with a charming, chipper professor (Jaboukie Young-White) who moved to town from the much more progressive Seattle and yet is happy with his new home. Through his new relationship and restored bond with his sister, Gavin is forced to consider the idea that there is happiness to be found in the place he’s tried so hard to leave behind.
There’s a moment in Trash Mountain where the whole film comes together. The two grieving siblings take the stage for a drunken bar karaoke rendition of K-Ci & JoJo’s “All My Life”. Gavin is hesitant at first, while Abbi knows exactly what she’s doing. Quickly the song becomes a declaration of love they deliver to each other, cementing their renewed bond as they both grapple with shared personal tragedy. Despite their obvious differences, Gavin and Abbi are a dream team when they want to be.
In keeping with the theme of return, Deschanel gives a performance that reminds us why she’s still a star, despite years out of the limelight. There are shades of her early work in films like The Good Girl, All The Real Girls and of course, Almost Famous. Once again she’s playing a cool older sister who loves her little brother despite his childishness. Younger viewers may not know that before New Girl, Deschanel was known for her more sarcastic presence onscreen, with shades of mystery in darkness. It’s that quality that enhances her chemistry with Hearon, as the two try to joke their way through a devastating experience.
Hopefully, Trash Mountain will be the breakout role that Hearon deserves. Every line out of his mouth sounds funny and natural; every moment feels emotionally true. Rey’s directing style keeps the spirit of Mumblecore cinema while bringing it into the immediate present, injecting subtle political commentary into naturalistic scenes. It’s a film that’s emotionally rather than narratively ambitious, and there’s something so lovely about that.
