In Grow Up, Tony Phillips, a young man (Tony Vespe) has to face a senior year of high school where everyone has moved on from the hobbies of the past while he’s still hopelessly in love with Halloween and all its trapping. His hip older cousin (A.J. Bowen) swings into town and takes Tony under his wing but the costume-making teen has to face his own changing world.
This is the fourth film from Emily Hagins, the director who’s been making films since she was 12 years old. The production (who, full disclosure, I’m friends with) has now put together a trailer with the movie heading up to SXSW for its premiere on Tuesday.
Check it out for yourself:
Definitely a 90s indie vibe to it, complete with the grunge-y slow jam and angsty coming of age momentum.
The poster, on the other hand, is a bit more playful:
With this it would seem as though Hagins is finally coming into her own as a storyteller. Her previous outings were curiosities because of her age, but they were marked by her amateur learning curve as well. That curve might still be there, but hopefully this new work will prove that the training wheels are truly off.