So, I CAN’T with how much I loved POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA. Not a horror film so please forgive me, but I couldn’t help but tell you dear readers about it. Writer, director Wes Hurley‘s autobiographical dark comedy is a joyous gem of movie magic that traces his surreal childhood in Russia to his arrival in America and his awakening as a gay man in a new world. Hurley blends notes of Wes Anderson and John Cameron Mitchell to share a sardonic look at his past that pairs with a humorously bright outlook on his future.

The story opens as Potato (Hersh Powers) and his mother Lena (Sera Barbieri) live in a forgettable Russian flat. Grandmother Tamara (Lea DeLaria) tends to Potato on the living room couch as Lena and her boyfriend fight and scrap. A typical night in their home. Lena is a doctor at a prison who longs to give her son a bright future of opportunity. Little Potato spends his days hanging out with other boys and trying not to stand out. At school, Potato faces veiled persecution and the threat of discovery that he might be gay. Meanwhile, his amazing mother begins courting American men via mail mail-order-bride services as a means to find passage to America.

The big day comes and older Lena (Marya Sea Kaminski) and older Potato (Tyler Bocock) move to America to live with Lean’s new husband John (Dan Lauria). Potato makes friends with outcast Mandy (Sophia Mitri Schloss) at school, yet that is where it stays. Soon Lena learns that her new man has more than a few secrets. What’s worse, both she and Potato’s life in America might very well be in danger of ending.

Thankfully, we can trust that there is a relatively happy end to the story. After all, the filmmaker has made an American film about his hopes of making it to America. Yet, there is something so remarkably endearing in the film, the performances, and its overall execution that simply screams an infectious heartfelt optimism. You can’t help but give in to the hilariously awkward moments in Russia that exhibit a sort of theatrical silliness. For his part Power’s performance as the young Potato is funny and a bit heartbreaking. Barbieri‘s young and resourceful Lena is wonderful as well. Of course, we can’t go without calling out DeLaria‘s broad performance as the grandmother. She is a gem.

There is an interesting change that happens when the story moves to America. Things are less cartoonish, less stagey. Perhaps this was Hurley‘s way of sharing a rose-colored recollection of a dark past. Yet in America life feels real, vibrant, and hopeful. Kaminski and Bocock both do a fine job carrying the characters into a new future, but it is Kaminski that shines with truly frightening moments of heartbreak and uncertainty that are followed with understanding.

POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA is weird, quirky, and not without its shabby edges. This is glorious indie cinema that takes risks with about 75% of them panning out to make something original and ultimately rewarding. POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA put a smile on my face.

7 out of 10