An openly gay teen is faced with high school hell in The Curiosity of Chance, a throwback to the John Hughes-styled comedies of the 1980s.

In The Curiosity of Chance, his feature film debut, writer/director Russell P. Marleau pays homage to the 1980s high school comedies of John Hughes and switches the perspective to that of an openly gay teenager. We follow Chance Marquis (Tad Hilgenbrink), a fashionable new student at an Americanized European High School for army brats. He is instantly picked on by Brad (Maxim Maes), the egomaniacal school bully, for wearing a bow tie and top hat on his first day. After joining the newspaper, he befriends Twyla (Aldevina Da Silva) and Hank (Pieter Van Nieuwenhuyze), two fellow outcasts. With their aid and a little advice from a drag performer named Claire Vuoyant (Danny Calander), Chance may be able to overcome persecution from Brad, the vindictive and highly unhygienic Vice Principal Smelker (Magali Uytterhaegen) and his own military-obsessed father (Chris Mulkey). During all this, he finds time to experiment with female impersonation and tries to win the heart of Levi (Brett Chukerman), the hunky blonde jock/musician next door. Featuring a varied cast of fresh new faces and an ample soundtrack of pop hits from the '80s, The Curiosity of Chance is out to charm and strike a nostalgic chord.

-- Robert O'Neill