Zeke is in his twenties, out of college and out of plans, and to sixteen-year-old Mo he is still the most impressive person alive. Big Time Adolescence, Jason Orley's 2020 comedy-drama, follows a friendship that probably should have faded years earlier and watches what happens when the older kid refuses to grow up.
What is Big Time Adolescence about?
Mo is a bright suburban teenager with decent grades and a clean record, which makes him an unlikely disciple for Zeke, a charismatic dropout who treats ambition as a character flaw. The two spend their afternoons on Zeke's couch, where Mo absorbs a worldview built on skipped responsibilities and a steady supply of jokes. Zeke is not cruel; he genuinely likes the kid and talks to him as an equal, which is exactly why his advice lands so hard. When Mo wants to matter at school, Zeke hands him a shortcut that involves selling drugs at parties thrown by older students, and the scheme works just well enough to become a routine. A first serious crush complicates things, and Mo's father, who has noticed his son drifting, starts trying to take back control of how the boy is being raised. The film stays close to Mo as the costs of Zeke's lessons begin to show.
About the cast
Griffin Gluck and Pete Davidson carry the film's central friendship, and much of the comedy comes from how easily their rhythms mesh. Jon Cryer brings a worried, grounded presence to the parental side of the story. Sydney Sweeney, Emily Arlook, Thomas Barbusca and Oona Laurence fill out the teenagers and young adults orbiting Mo's life, while Machine Gun Kelly appears among Zeke's older circle.
Context & significance
Jason Orley wrote and directed the film as his feature debut, and it belongs to a long American tradition of coming-of-age stories where a teenager picks the wrong mentor. What distinguishes this one is the tone: the comedy is relaxed and conversational, and the drama arrives without sermons. The United States production runs a compact ninety-one minutes, which keeps the focus on the two leads rather than on subplots. For viewers who enjoy films about friendship, bad influence and the awkward years between childhood and adulthood, this is a gentle, funny entry in the genre.
Watching Big Time Adolescence on Ktime
Big Time Adolescence streams on K-Time with a Persian dub and Persian subtitles, so you can switch between the original English performances and a Farsi track depending on who is in the room. The page you are reading is free; watching the film requires a K-Time account, and the whole interface is available in Farsi for the Iranian diaspora.