by Lisa Nystrom
Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Benito Skinner, Wally Baram, Mary Beth Barone, Adam DiMarco, Rish Shah, Nell Verlaque
Intro:
Even while dressed in a toga, chugging alcohol of dubious origins, there’s an emotionality and relatability balancing out the hijinks …
Freshman year of college opens up all kinds of possibilities—new friends, new classes, a chance to redefine yourself free of lingering high-school associations. For Benny (Benito Skinner), former football player and homecoming king, fitting in was never an issue, he has a knack for moulding himself to be exactly what the people around him want him to be—a talented jock, a good student with a mind for business… straight.
Working hard to shake the pesky gay thoughts that have hounded him since puberty, Benny takes the sage advice of his sister’s boyfriend and makes it his mission to hook up with a girl on the first night of college. After a somewhat awkward meet-cute turns into an even more awkward date with fellow freshman Carmen (Wally Baram), the two join forces to navigate the struggles of fitting in, fake IDs, and figuring out what kind of person they want to be.
Skinner, best known for his Benny Drama persona creating viral comedy sketches on social media, is the show’s creator, writer and star, and the driving force behind the inherent likeability of Benny. Silly, clever, charming and above all, fun, the show does an excellent job of exploring the dynamics between women and men, specifically gay men.
Benny and Carmen’s friendship is complex, and while never short on laughs or absurdity, it feels genuinely believable.
The true charm of Skinner’s writing is how deeply personal it feels. Even while dressed in a toga, chugging alcohol of dubious origins, there’s an emotionality and relatability balancing out the hijinks, making it easy to want to cheer Benny on, even when he’s—by his own admission—not a good guy.
Hitting all the expected tropes of college campus fare in a way that feels more familiar than cliched, Overcompensating keeps things light and airy, setting the tone with original music from Charli XCX and an endless stream of cameos from the likes of James Van Der Beek, Kaia Gerber, Lukas Gage and Megan Fox.
