It's a problematic theme or a theme that's a double-edged sword. The theme is that of a gay person lusting after a straight person. This is of course a common theme in queer cinema or queer media. His main issue is that he's obsessed with a so-called straight boy and he spends every waking hour thinking about this straight boy and veritably stalking him.

There's one scene where he's bullied somewhat, but Ben being openly gay is less of an issue than one might expect for the time period and it's also less of an issue than it is in Love, Simon (2018), which is meant to take place a decade or so after this one. He's openly gay, having come out at as a freshman. Grant Davis who is a young pop singer stars as Ben Bentley, a high school senior who is an aspiring actor and singer. Homophobia is still a significant issue in that time, as it still is today, but, it's not as much of a factor here in this film, as it perhaps should have been, if it truly began in the late 90's. Now, some could argue that the start of the narrative isn't greatly affected with a possible seven-year difference, but, by 2005, The Ellen DeGeneres Show was on the air across the country and Brokeback Mountain was a part of the culture. Therefore, it's more likely that this story begins either in 2004 or 2005, if we are to assume that the protagonist singing Spektor's track isn't meant to be anachronistic. The first one, which we hear in the first, five minutes, is Regina Spektor's 'Us,' which was initially released in 2003. However, this film uses pop songs for its musical numbers. If we are to assume that the film ends in the same year as when Bell's book was first published, that of 2011, then we can deduce that it begins in the late 90's, either 1998 or 1999, which would make sense with some of the technology we see, particularly the phone technology. The film follows its characters for the better part of two decades. His film could also be classified as a musical. Long-time cinematographer, David Berry in his feature debut with writer Carlos Pedraza turns the first in Bell's series into a teenage, romantic comedy. It's not too surprising that a film adaptation has been made.

It's a group of YA novels that were successful enough to spawn a dozen of them. Jay Bell is the author of a dozen books that are collectively known as the 'Something Like' series.

Something Like Summer by Jay Bell