2008, 103 min
A.K.A.: Patrick Age 1.5
Country: Sweden
Studio : Here!, E1 Entertainment
Director: Ella Lemhagen
Screenwriter: Ella Lemhagen
Original Author: Michael Druker
Synopsis
A gay couple adopts a much different — and older — child than they were expecting in this funny, heartwarming, and unpredictable comic drama.
Review
Swedish suburbanite couple Goran and Sven are going to be daddies! They’ve successfully adopted a Swedish child — Patrik, "age 1.5" — and they eagerly await his arrival. But when the promised bundle of joy finally appears on their doorstep, he turns out to be age 15 and, from the looks of things, a troubled juvenile delinquent. The couple freaks out, demanding the agency take Patrik back, while the oft-rejected, homophobic teen treats the pair like chicken hawk captors. Forced to cohabitate until the adoption agency’s bureaucratic blunder gets corrected, the trio find themselves at constant odds (not to mention the issue of what to tell the neighbors) and confronting unexpected truths. It’s the year of the “gayby boom” film, and Patrik, Age 1.5 truly stands out. Adapting Michael Druker’s play, writer/director Ella Lemhagen brings a stylized, satirical quirk to her vision of suburbia, but injects sometimes stinging dramatic weight into the screwball premise and proceedings. You’ll surely take Patrik to heart. (Swedish with English subtitles)