Emerson Thorsen (Aaron Webber) is 13 years old and lives with his hippie parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy) in their eco-home in the wilds of Nova Scotia, Canada. He recently had his first wet dream, and completed writing and illustrating his first book. But the home-schooled youth can barely add two plus two, so his mother enrolls him in the local school. There he meets Don Grant (Daniel MacIvor), his English teacher. At age 42, Don is a closeted gay loner and has settled into a life of perpetual adolescence. He makes regular visits to a park washroom for dangerous anonymous sex.
In the classroom, Emerson stirs things up and Don sees a bit of himself in his new pupil. Emerson, who is initially scornful of his teacher, quickly develops a crush on Don. The overly confident boy, raised in a household of nudity and sexual openness, is too open for Don, who has to curb Emerson's feelings without crushing his spirit. In the process, both student and teacher learn valuable lessons about surviving growing pains. There is a sub-plot involving Emerson's mother cheating on his father causing their marriage to disintegrate. It is less interesting, though still good, but takes the focus away from the main plot. This Canadian film is very entertaining and well done. It's handled with good taste, intelligence, and the acting is excellent, especially by Webber in his first film role. David Buchbinder composed the original music, Amnon Buchbinder and Daniel MacIvor wrote the screenplay, and Amnon Buchbinder directed.
