Friendships are complicated, but I will tell you that I think that it is something that is so important to have in your life. Friendships are what makes the world go round. However sometimes what is so complicated are the friendships between men and women,
Sex Education By My Best Friend is one of those verticals that explores a friendship between the sexes and how emotions sometimes propel people together and sometimes apart. This is a story about first love, blurred boundaries, and the consequences of misinformation.
And hey, the consequences are bigger than one would think.
Chase, played by Cameron Porras, is the campus super athlete. Everyone wants to be with him except his best friend, Emma, played by Trinity Johnston. The two have been besties for forever, but couldn’t be more exact opposites. Yet, they work.
Chase is just trying to get laid, when Emma enters his room with one of his “toys” that he left in the kitchen. She’s annoyed by it and I can’t blame her. Hey, have your toys, but put them away when you’re done. No one wants people to s*** where they eat.
FRIENDSHIP
The thing that is beautiful about the relationship between Chase and Emma is that he will stop everything to be there for her. She’s his bestie and that means that she comes first. When she says she’s going to a party and wants to loose her virginity, he asks if she wants to loose it to him. When she’s humiliated at the party for being a virgin, she comes back to their home and immediately wants to sleep with him.
He doesn’t want to take advantage of her. He wants to protect her.
The thing about verticals, when you’re watching something that Cameron Porras is in, there are things you should know. The man will play roles that are versatile, but he will also play roles that showcase the different sides to him. Well, to the male species. He makes sure that characters are strong, vulnerable, and also dynamic.
Chase is the kind of guy that can get the woman that he wants, but doesn’t care. He’s worried about the people that he’s with. He’s loyal, and yes somewhat of a playboy. He will stop anyone dead in their tracks when it comes to Emma. I have to admire that.
Cause lets face it – not all people are like that.
COACH
When he and Emma don’t sleep together, he instead agrees to be her sex coach. Now, I can’t believe that he is doing that, but all I have to say is the seduction lesson is one that will make your jaw drop. He’s protecting her from bullies – which are the most miserable people ever. The hardest thing about watching this or any vertical is the way that so many things are about virginity.
I think that holding onto your virginity should be a badge of honor. It should be one of those things that no one can discredit. I find that to be the stupidest thing to bully anyone over.
As Chase teaches Emma, she seems to be more and more confused about what it means to be a woman discovering who they are. But she wants to be grown and she wants to discover who she is.
Emma is the one person that can challenge Chase, but what I found more endearing is that she challenges herself. She’s figuring out who she is and what it means to be on her own. She’s discovering the way the world works and the way that she fits in the world that she is in.
She’s the target of so much hazing and it’s quite gross, but the person that is always there for her is Chase. The guy she has a crush on – Justin – is scum and doesn’t care about Emma. He cares about his spot on the swim team and nothing else. He is using her and the only person that can get through to her with that is Chase.
But even that is a difficult to get through to her.
PUSH AND PULL
Emma takes all of Chases lesson – drawing him in and pushing him away. She’s not used to the way he’s bringing her to life, and also the emotions he’s making her feel. That’s her best friend and any change in that relationship terrifies her.
But over time they are able to see that they are meant to be together. A relationship built on friendship is one that can grow.
The chemistry that Johnston and Porras is one that did surprise me. But it’s gotta be one of the easiest pairings that I have ever watched. The two feel calming together and even though the story has a large sexual overtone at it’s core it is a story of friendship and understanding. It’s a story about love – both friendship and relationship love.
And watching the story unfold – that’s what it took away from it. Two people meant to be in love and together, but taking the longest way around.
