Appropriate Behavior (2015)

Appropriate Behavior feels special because it turns the messy, contradictory work of becoming yourself into something both wickedly funny and quietly piercing, with a voice that’s confident without ever pretending to have all the answers. Desiree Akhavan guides you through Brooklyn’s social minefields and family expectations with sharp wit and real warmth, letting the humor land while the emotional truth sneaks up on you. It’s charming in that lived-in, candid way—more like overhearing a friend’s most honest confession than watching a neatly packaged rom-com. If you prefer broad, escapist comedy, this may feel too intimate and specific, but if you like your laughs laced with insight, it’s a bracingly fresh take on identity and relationships.

Appropriate Behavior is trying to be a sharp, modern identity comedy about the mess of being pulled between family expectations, queer dating, and Brooklyn self-awareness, and it often lands a dry, relatable joke. The problem is it can feel more like a series of smart observations than a fully satisfying story, with characters and themes that flirt with depth but don’t always commit. If you need a clear emotional payoff or a strong arc by the end, the intentionally low-key, slightly anticlimactic wrap-up may leave you thinking, “That’s it?” Still, if you enjoy talky indie dramedies with awkward charm, cultural specificity, and a lead who’s candidly flawed, there’s enough wit and honesty here to make it worth a look.