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Patrik, Age 1.5 Movie Review

Patrik, Age 1.5 is a 2008 Swedish romantic comedy drama film directed by Ella Lemhagen and starring Gustaf Skarsgard and Torkel Petersson. It is a predictable, but very endearing movie.

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“Hey, why should I accept fashion pointers from a teenage thug?“

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A Swedish gay couple adopt what they think is an 18-month-old orphan, only to meet their new son, a 15-year-old homophobic delinquent. This movie functions as a romantic comedy due to its strong comedic streak and a very predictable fairy tale romantic ending, but it is also a drama as it doesn’t shy away from the many hardships of the adoption process, especially when it concerns gay parents.

It is set in this seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood, but the film truthfully depicts just how difficult life as a gay person would be in that kind of a traditional surrounding. The story needed more humor, but when it was there, it was excellent. Patrik was very funny in his childish insults and hilarious observations.

The movie is also immensely romantic. Yes, that ending was obviously overly joyous and unrealistic, but it fitted this kind of narrative and sometimes we need these types of happy movies to counter all the contemporary cinematic darkness.

Goran is the heart and soul of the story. A well-meaning, clumsy and hopelessly romantic doctor, he also desperately wants to be a dad, which led to that wonderful parental relationship that developed between him and Patrik. Their dynamic is both funny and deeply sentimental, lending the movie a big heart.

Patrik is this delinquent who is still a child at heart in need of a parental figure. Tom Ljungman played the role effortlessly well. Skarsgard and Petersson are also terrific, though the Sven character could be too unlikable. He is your typical man who is afraid of responsibility and traditional lifestyle, which made the ending where he chose just that implausible.

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Patrik, Age 1.5 features a bunch of unrealistic, overly convenient scenarios, but you buy it because you root for the characters’ happiness and well being. The movie’s charming tone is excellent and it has a superb message about the importance of parents, no matter the type. It is well paced and highly entertaining in its entirety too.