Most Likely

When Beth (Jessica Conger) begs her roommate Phil (Kevin Sandberg) to go with her to New Hampshire to the wedding of Beth's old friend Chloe (Alex Tyler Fandel), Phil is reluctant: He's already made plans to spend his weekend binge-watching TV.

The audience might be feeling reluctant, too, early on -- but hang in there. "Most Likely" may come across in the beginning as "The Big Chill" with wedding bells for the Lena Dunham generation, but once the preliminaries are out of the way things start getting fast, furious, and funny.

En route to the wedding, Beth and Phil pick up another of Beth's old friend, Mia (Destinie Ryan), a brittle, angry Debbie Dwoner who is in the midst of a divorce. Her unhappiness seeps out of her and into the celebratory weekend. Her bad vibes find a sympathetic resonance in her longtime best friend Joe (Andrew Bemis, who also wrote and directed the film), who has also gone through a nasty breakup not so long ago -- nasty enough to require institutionalizations and mood stabilizers.

But the groom, Curt (Rory Acres), is a semi-demo-shaman-wannabe, and if his peace out/love rules attitude doesn't change people's mental latitude, his cache of drugs certainly will. (Throw in a session of naked T'ai Chi, and hey, anything is possible.)

More guests arrive in short order: Chris (Colin Allen), Curt's friend and music partner is one of them, and he takes an instant shine to Joe; lesbian couple Lex (Jennifer Beaudoin) and Rain (Alisa Leigh) are there, too, as is Curt's uptight Christian brother, Greg (Johnny Donaldson).

If the lineup seems tailor-made for maximum sparks (both feudal and romantic), that's because it is. The acting is often more enthusiastic than skilled, but there are a couple of naturals here whose performances stand out and stand up to the script's occasional too-thin passages. That said, there are also some electrifying moments when people blow their tops, pop their corks, and unload on each other in a variety of ways, and the movie lives for these moments. It should: They're the ones you remember later, and remember with a smile.

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

This story is part of our special report: "Wicked Queer: Boston LGBTQ Film Festival". Want to read more? Here's the full list.