# Club Kid: Party Guy Becomes a Dad

> Jordan Firstman's debut film about a New York party promoter forced to raise a 10-year-old son he never knew he had became a surprise hit at Cannes.
- Title: Club Kid: Party Guy Becomes a Dad · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: Jordan Firstman's debut film about a New York party promoter forced to raise a 10-year-old son he never knew he had became a surprise hit at Cannes.
- Keywords: club kid, jordan firstman, cannes film festival, debut feature, parenthood, new york, cara delevingne, reggie absolom, TIME
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/11/06/club-kid-review-jordan-firstman
- Author: Stephanie Zacharek
- Published: 2026-11-06T13:30:03.936+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: club kid, jordan firstman, cannes film festival, debut feature, parenthood, new york, cara delevingne, reggie absolom
## A party promoter's surprise
Writer-director Jordan Firstman's debut feature Club Kid became a surprise sensation at Cannes in May. Firstman started as a comedy writer and gained attention for Instagram skits during the pandemic.
## Peter's unexpected fatherhood
Peter, a New York party promoter played by Firstman, loves drugs and the nightlife scene with his business partner Sophie, played by Cara Delevingne.
## Arlo's tragic backstory
Edison, who has a thick North London accent, brings Arlo to Peter with passport and birth certificate.Arlo's mother, Edison's best friend, has recently died by suicide.Peter is stunned and unhappy about this turn of events.
## A bright kid with taste
Arlo is around ten, bright and open-hearted with fantastic taste in music.Cocteau Twins are one of his favorites, and he wears a cute mid-nineteen-eighties curly pompadour haircut.
## Growing up alongside his son
Peter has never had to do grownup things, and their existential weight overwhelms him at first.He must grow up himself and fast to be a dad to Arlo.
## A real kid, not a prop
Child actor Reggie Absolom is quietly wonderful as Arlo, never overplaying even when retching after eating pizza he's allergic to.He shows deep-rooted anger that passes through him like an electrical storm.

> Club Kid is, in the words of disco star Sylvester, mighty real.
## Key takeaway

Jordan Firstman's debut feature Club Kid, about a gay party promoter raising a child he didn't know existed, became a surprise sensation at Cannes in May.