It’s astonishing that Three Months is Jared Frieder’s directorial debut. Three Months solidly infuses a life-altering moment with humor and pathos so effortlessly that I thought that Frieder has been directing comedy for years.
Three Months follows Troye Sivan’s Caleb, a wise-cracking high school graduate with his entire life ahead of him in 2011. The only thing that stands in his way of his future fall plans is a negative result from an HIV test. Caleb was expose to the virus after a hook up gone badly, and he has to wait through his entire summer to make sure that no traces of the virus are lingering in his body.
Three Months doesn’t wallow in potential grief, nor does it try too hard to cheer you up with saccharine writing and storytelling. This is a story about the journey as much as it is about the destination, but Frieder’s screenplay doesn’t ignore the history of those who suffered before Caleb. He wisely has Caleb look back at the visibility of the virus as he awaits his results, and he cast Javier Munoz (who garnered headlines when he took over the role of Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway juggernaut, Hamilton) as Caleb’s main doctor.
There is an unspoken, learned queer knowledge all throughout Frieder’s film, and I could’ve chatted with him for hours about how much he loves this project. Because of him, Three Months is touching, funny, and expertly written and directed.
Three Months debuts on Paramount+ on February 23.