Something Special (Willy/Milly)

Director: Paul Schneider

1986 / 86min / 35mm

Frustrated by a world in which boys seem to get the best of everything, 14-year-old Milly (Pamela Adlon) makes a wish to swap her sex, and wakes up to find her—or, rather, his—wish has come true. “In my obsession with Something Special, I purchased this 35mm print of it almost 30 years ago. There are a handful of ‘teenage girls passing as boys’ films (She’s the Man is probably the best known). In so many films with gender-crossing characters, the passing is so unconvincing that it renders the film ultimately unsatisfying for a queer audience. But Pamela Adlon’s performance here as Willy is absolutely spectacular.” —Series curator Jenni Olson, queer film historian and archivist

Distributor: Cinevision Global

Introduction and post-screening discussion by Jenni Olson moderated by filmmaker, film critic and writer Drew Burnett Gregory on Saturday, October 24th

Part of Jenni Olson Selects: Mini Masc