Extremely Unique Dynamic is the indie stoner movie that I’ve been waiting for. As far as stoner movies go, it’s a great time without the over-exaggerated circumstances, retaining reality and heart in every layer of its meta.
“In this (likely) first-ever and (possibly) award-winning Meta-Asian-Stoner-Coming-Of-Age-Bromantic Dramedy, bottled-up secrets arise as two best friends decide to make a movie… about two guys making a movie… about two guys making a movie.”
When you first read the synopsis, you definitely think about how you and your friends could definitely do this too. And maybe you can, but you didn’t. Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung did. And they did it fantastically! It is worth mentioning that Extremely Unique Dynamic boasts two AAPI men as lead actors, a feat in entertainment and media representation not often seen in the west.
Need I surmise the premise of the movie? The log-line says it all. A classic coming of age story centered about two best friends who decide to make a movie about making a movie that is about two guys making a movie. However, the layers get so much deeper than that! As the film goes on, you fall further and further into Danny (Leung) and Ryan’s (Xu) last summer together. Danny hoping to just spend their final moments together at special friendship landmarks with as much edibles as possible is forced by Ryan to make the day as productive as possible by making a short film…sober.
Along with the sobriety challenge, what’s a coming of age story without a coming out plot? I personally found this to be such a refreshing perspective in gay/queer stories. The exhibition of queer stories thus far has almost always focused on coming out to parents or it’s the “straight guy” who finally realizes that his love lives in the arms of the openly out protagonist. Extremely Unique Dynamic takes on the POV of coming out to your best friend, the “somebody who has always been there, but you don’t know so should you have to say something or if they already know but don’t say they do, do I still have to say something, but I don’t want anything to change between us” kind of aspect. This kind of relationship in coming out stories always happens so fast in most plot lines, but it was the way they showed the continuous internal turmoil that made this film so relatable to me. Ivan’s portrayal of Ryan throughout the film felt like I was seeing myself on screen, that it may or may not have led to a single dramatic tear drop in the middle of the crowded theater.
Overall, I found Extremely Unique Dynamic from the rambunctious minds of Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung to be refreshingly fun! The indie stoner film definitely helps fill the hole in representaion with a 3.85/5. (Disclaimer: there are no strict calculations to determine this score and merely impulsive gay feelings)
G.A.P.I.N.G. Magazine 
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