By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/18/23 – Over the past few decades, growing up in Texas seems too much to be a challenge for anyone. The Lone Star state’s politically conservative leadership makes coming of age there particularly difficult for anyone with divergent ideas and views.
But for writer/director Sara Kambe Holland, growing up as a queer mixed-Asian young woman might not have been a Sunday picnic. But it did provide all the inspiration Holland needed for the film, Egghead and Twinkie, a deeply personal comedy about coming of age and coming to terms with being queer. Holland’s funny and touching homage to the joys and pains of coming out of the closet will screen Friday as part of the 2023 edition of Outfest Los Angeles.
Check out our exclusive live interview with Sara:
Holland, who herself grew up in Texas but now lives in Florida, said that her own experience was much of the inspiration for the character Twinkie, a nickname given the title character by one of her adoptive parents denoting her blended Asian heritage: white on the inside, yellow on the outside, like the popular snack cake,
“I think a lot of those experiences influenced the character of Twinkie,” Holland said during a recent exclusive interview with The Hollywood Times, adding that none of the actual events of the movie are true.
“I wish I got to go on a road trip with my best friend,” Holland added, alluding to the film’s primary plotline. In the film, the 17-year-old Vivian (Twinkie) and her childhood best friend, whose brains have earned him entrance to Stanford University in the fall and the nickname.
Holland noted her film is also about Eggheads coming of age as Twinkie’s best friend as well as her ally as she comes out. “At the start of the film, we find out he has a crush on his best friend, and he thinks that, naturally, they are going to get together,” Holland said.
Of course, his expectation and reality are light years apart, but he quickly shows his true colors as they embark on a journey of discovery and growth. That growth doesn’t stop with our main characters, either. Twinkie’s father is particularly unsympathetic when the story begins, but as Twinkie’s journey unfolds, dad comes to a place of wanting to understand his changing, and maturing, daughter. Holland said while she wanted to make sure her film ended on an otherwise positive note, it was important to her that the film reflect the truth of real life.
“The film ends on a hopeful note, but we don’t know everything; there are several things that are uncertain, with Egghead going away to college and things like that,” Holland said. “So, I feel that is a reflection of real life, that things can be hopeful, and you can have an optimistic outlook, but there are so many things that you can’t control, and things can be hard, and the loose ends will be there.”
Along with an outstanding cast featuring Sabrina Jie-A-Fa (The Corrupt Half) as Twinkie and Louis Tomes (Every Which Way, 9-1-1) as Egghead, the film has unique feature that emerges as an important character in its own right – the liberal use of animation. Holland said, who like her fellow Gen Z-ers, grew up watching animated TV shows and movies.
“I love animation, so I came into the movie knowing I wanted animation in it,” Holland said, pointing out she had absolutely no animation talents or experience.”
So, Holland too a very Gen Z approach – she reached out on TikTok, with a 60-second video she said amounted to a crew call, describing what she was looking for, and calling for submissions.
Holland received “a ton of submissions,” and the result was an amazing two-year collaboration with lead animator Jill Cefalo-Sanders, a Cleveland-based artist whose wonderful drawing animate the film in flashes from start to finish, representing work aspiring artist Twinkie is doing as this story unfolds.
“It was a really rewarding collaborative experience,” Holland said.
Egghead and Twinkie Friday, July 21, at 5 p.m. At the DGA Theater Complex in West Hollywood. The film is available to stream via Outfest until July 23rd.
