Stress Positions is a 2024 American comedydrama film directed by Theda Hammel (in her feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Hammel from a story by Faheem Ali and Hammel. It stars John Early, Hammel, Qaher Harhash, Amy Zimmer, Faheem Ali, Rebecca F. Wright, Davidson Obennebo and John Roberts.
The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024. The film premiered in theaters on April 19, 2024.[2]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 52 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Stress Positions plays on familiar seriocomic tropes with sporadic verve, although the characters are occasionally more interesting than the story they're being used to tell."[8] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]
Much of the initial critical reaction to Stress Positions centered on the film's satirical approach to issues of race, gender, and sexuality.[10][3] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney deemed Stress Positions "busy but thin".[11] Ryan Lattanzio of Indiewire noted the film's heavy-handed approach to social issues but praised the "wry humor" and the chemistry between Hammel and Early.[12]
