By Gary M. Kramer –
Trans actress Tommy Dorfman makes an auspicious debut as a writer/director adapting Mason Deaver’s book, I Wish You All the Best, about Ben (Corey Fogelmanis), a non-binary teenager. The film will open at Bay Area theaters on November 7, 2025.
When Ben tells his parents, (Amy Landecker and Judson Mills), that he wants to talk to them about something—being non-binary—a door is heard being slammed. Ben is next seen barefoot and crying outside. Having been thrown out of his home, he calls his estranged sister, Hannah (Alexandra Daddario), in Raleigh, who takes him in. Her husband, Thomas (Cole Sprouse), helps Ben get settled in a new school, where he meets Nathan (Miles Guttierez-Riley), whom he learns is bi. Ben also forms a connection with Ms. Lyons (Lena Dunham), an art teacher who encourages Ben to express himself visually, and verbally. She helps him work through his emotions and feelings in various classroom sessions that double as therapy.
I Wish You All the Best is a film that is as messy as Ben is—and that is meant as a compliment. Several of the characters have baggage. Hannah gets to trauma bond with Ben—they even do scream therapy together—to cope with their big emotions. Dorfman focuses on Ben as he grapples with his overwhelming feelings. He says he can’t be himself—in part because he doesn’t know who he is—and because he thinks he does not fit in. (Fortunately, Nathan’s friends’ group is very accepting.) As Ben slowly changes his clothes from sad hoodies to more feminine garb, or tries out they/them pronouns, they blossom, and Fogelmanis’ sensitive performance makes this growth credible.
But even as Ben enters into a relationship with Nathan, they feel insecure, as if they don’t deserve happiness. They are still struggling about their guilt and conflicted emotions towards their parents, especially when mom and dad contact Ben for a meet up. How Ben handles this situation and their parents’ reaction to his gender identity forms the film’s biggest dramatic moments. These scenes, along with discussions he has with Hannah, and Ms. Lyons, help Ben become more independent and self-confident.
But, as Ben processes his experiences, he can be a bit selfish. I Wish You All the Best captures this well in scenes where Thomas tries to connect with Ben, who argues with him, or when Ben ghosts Nathan after they have a night of intimacy. Even when Ben is unlikable, viewers will be rooting for them.
Significantly, although their parents are discouraging, Ben is greeted with support from everyone else he meets, including Chris (Brian Michael Smith), his boss at a Senior Day Camp, and Sophie (Lisa Yamada), a classmate, both of whom are queer. Dorfman seems very interested in inclusivity, and making sure everyone feels seen, which is admirable and valuable. I Wish You All the Best is aggressively determined to help give non-binary as well as trans and queer kids visibility and a voice.
Like a teenager, the film tends to be overly dramatic with a few moments of rest before the next crisis. But Ben has many experiences that test him, from going to his first party, and having his first hit of weed, to getting drunk, trying on makeup, and having sex. It is “a lot,” and Dorfman presents it as such, but as Ben calibrates things, Fogelmanis artfully expresses his feeling in his body language. He is often curled up to convey how introverted Ben is, which makes it gratifying to see B—which is what Ben eventually changes their name to—attend a class function in a skirt, moving freely, and feeling comfortable, if perhaps a little anxious. A later, upbeat scene of them dancing down the street to the Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” delivers all the feels.
I Wish You All the Best is not perfect. It does get didactic in the Ms. Lyons/Ben conversations, and it is clunky in depicting Ben’s parents’ behavior. But this is forgivable because the film has its heart in the right place—on its frilly sleeve—for its target audience.
2025 © Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator.
Film
Published on November 6, 2025
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