Ponyboi
Ponyboi
Unfolding over the course of Valentine's Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
A neon-noir crime thriller that has Ponyboi, an intersex sex worker, on the run when a client keels over. Operating out of a laundromat run by Vinnie, a hyper-sleazy Dylan O’brien, Ponyboi resorts to stealing Vinnie’s cash stash, hops across grimy Jersey truckstops, motels and pharmacies, trying to find a way to get out of town. Writer/director/star River Gallo draws a lot from personal experience and it’s this insight into the intersex experience that the film shines brightest. The crime thriller elements are otherwise fairly generic and not very well fleshed out. There’s also a b-storyline where Ponyboi has recently discovered that their estranged father is on his deathbed and has been reaching out for contact. We’re treated to ethereal flashbacks to Ponyboi’s childhood as they grapple with the feelings of being discarded or abandoned. At the same time, the audience never really gets a window into what really happened in Ponyboi’s childhood—just an amorphous feeling that doesn’t completely close the distance between Ponyboi and the audience. By the end, I felt a little mixed about this, but Gallo has a strong creative voice. Recommend.