Overcompensating lgbtq
As Mama Ru wisely observes, we’re all born naked and the rest is drag. Each one of us is projecting an image—consciously or otherwise—that influences the way the world views us. On the verge of adulthood, surrounded by other teenagers trying to spot themselves at college, it is manageable to become a little too self-conscious about how we want to be seen. That mention becomes even more heightened if you’ve got a private that you’re trying to cover up. You tend to overcompensate.
That is the case for Benny (creator-writer-star Benito Skinner), a former sky-high school football hero and homecoming king who is struggling to accept that he his same-sex attracted, let alone split his sexuality with anyone around him. Deep down he’s known all his life. The eight-episode series opens with a young Benny (Austin Kurtis) enraptured by a scantily-clad Brendan Fraser in George of the Jungle, rewatching the same moment on repeat on his treasured DVD until his friends tease him about it.
Cut to the offer day and his arrival as a freshman at Yates, where his older sister Grace (Mary Beth Barone) is already well established as part of the college’s fresh set. She clearly resents Benny
‘Overcompensating’ takes a comical, biting look at the college experience
Benito Skinner has pulled a fast one on us. The comedian and actor, known for his online persona Benny Drama who performs celebrity impersonations and original skits online, has released a modern show, “Overcompensating,” on Prime Video.
On the surface, “Overcompensating,” which Skinner created, wrote, and stars in, is a run-of-the-mill grown-up comedy in the vein of “American Pie,” but with a gay twist. Think of it as a better-produced “Edge of Seventeen” or “Eating Out,” tailored for Millennial and Gen-Z audiences. And that is technically true — there is no shortage of gags and antics involving Viagra, used condoms, streaking on campus, unsuspecting beta fish, and countless phallic objects.
Those jokes pair well with a crash course in existence gay montage, complete with RuPaul’s Drag Race bingeing, shirtless selfies, trying poppers for the first moment, first Grindr meetup, and a screening of Brokeback Mountain. Skinner knows his audience is expecting laughs, and he is more than happy to bring, but “Overcompensating” is equally endearing as it is humorous, making it all the more relatable.
Earl
The Problem With Overcompensating
Watching all eight episodes of Overcompensating—the brand-new Amazon Prime Video comedy drama created by and starring social media actor Benito Skinner—several questions crossed my brain. For instance: When exactly is this supposed to be set? We’re told right away that Skinner’s character Benny, a closeted male lover college freshman, had his sexual awakening watching a loincloth-clad Brendan Fraser swing through the trees in George of the Jungle (1997), and that he’s around 9 in the year 2000 when Britney Spears’ “Lucky” was still in the countdown. By my math, that should denote Benny is heading off to college around 2010. Yet at one indicate in the demonstrate , Charli XCX—who is, along with Jonah Hill, among the series’ executive producers—shows up to inexplicably perform at this fictional college, singing songs that she released in 2012, 2014, and 2017. That would produce Overcompensating … not a show that takes place today? But also not a specifically millennial period piece? It’s all very puzzling.
The bigger and more profound question, though, is not about Overcompensating’s time period, but about its core: Who, exactly, is this for? The show follows Benny,
Meet the Cast of ‘Overcompensating,’ Benito Skinner’s New Homosexual College Comedy
Social media and next gen comedy legend Benito Skinner is bringing his talents to the medium-sized screen with a new series, Overcompensating, now streaming on Prime Video. The show is an autobiographical satire of closeted young adulthood, performative masculinity, and the glittering, Everclear-soaked chaos of pre-pandemic college life.
Produced by A24 and Jonah Hill’s Robust Baby Productions, the 8-episode series is a masterclass in Gen-Z casting, featuring guest appearances by the internet’s babygirl Kyle MacLachlan, Connie Britton, Kaia Gerber, Owen Thiele, and even Charli XCX, who took on the role of executive music producer for the series. The main cast includes, obviously, Benito Skinner, as well as his frequent collaborator, Mary Beth Barone. Plus, White Lotus breakout Adam DiMarco and newcomer Wally Baram.
Here’s a character-by-character breakdown of who’s who—let’s proceed back to college together.
Watch 'Overcompensating' on Prime Video
Benito Skinner as Benny, the closeted jock turned reluctant gay icon.
Skinner plays a fictionalized version of himself: a former homecomin