Twee Cancer and Adorable Kidnapping Plague "Honeyglue"

A twee romp through the familiar territory of indie faux-rebellion, James Bird's Honeyglue goes through all the regular motions.

This time the leads are Morgan, the naive and terminally ill teenage daughter of a loving family, and her love interest Jordan, a sanctimonious and gender-bending rebel with a dark past. After a cute shotgun wedding, the couple commits a cute robbery and randomly kidnaps a doctor—but in, like, a cute and consequence-free kinda way.

A powerful scene sporadically appears, but there's also a song-and-dance number, children's animation within the narrative, and the forced use of 19 mm film. As it tackles issues like cancer, death and gender dynamics, Honeyglue is a lot like Portland: conventionally unconventional.

Rated R.

Critic's Grade: C

Willamette Week