Anthony Bawn’s Queer Rom-Com ‘Almost Us’ Arrives on WatchVIM This April
Queer rom-com fans, it might be time to clear some space on your watchlist. This April, filmmaker and actor Anthony Bawn is bringing us a new LGBTQ+ romance comedy with Almost Us, premiering exclusively on WatchVIM on April 17.
Set in Phoenix, the film follows an unexpected connection between Darren (Adri Kennedy), a closeted and politically connected real estate developer, and Jason (Anthony Bawn), an openly queer community organizer. What begins as a fiery one-night stand quickly becomes far more complicated when their personal lives collide with a community conflict neither of them can ignore.
Without giving too much away (we’ll save the deeper dive for a review), Almost Us places its central romance right at the intersection of desire, power, and responsibility. Darren is tied to a luxury redevelopment project that threatens the Baldwin Cultural Center, a beloved hub for Phoenix’s marginalized communities, and a space Jason is determined to protect.
Director and star Anthony Bawn describes the dynamic between the two leads as messy in the most honest way. “Awkward run-ins and escalating misfires spark plenty of laughs along the way,” Bawn explains. “Darren is used to controlling his image—money, silence, strategy—while Jason leads with truth, community, and heart. Their connection forces them to face what they’ve both been avoiding: the difference between wanting someone and being willing to be seen with them.”
That tension between attraction and accountability sits at the heart of the film. “It’s somewhere in between, and that’s what makes it honest,” Bawn says about the relationship. “Jason is genuinely drawn to Darren’s tenderness beneath the armor, but he’s not naïve about what Darren represents in the fight to save the center. Love and leverage live in the same room, and the film doesn’t pretend they don’t.”
At the center of the story is the Baldwin Cultural Center itself, which Bawn calls the emotional core of the film. “It isn’t just a location. It’s a sanctuary, a memory bank, and a lifeline,” he says. “Spaces like it are where marginalized people gather, heal, organize, and breathe. The fight for the center is the fight for belonging and for who gets to shape a city’s future.”
The film also explores the personal cost of hiding one’s identity. “Darren embodies the cost of silence: what it does to your love life, your integrity, and your spirit,” Bawn explains. “Privilege can protect you, but it can also imprison you.”
At the same time, Almost Us keeps its rom-com spirit alive through humor, charm, and the kind of chaotic emotional energy that makes the genre so fun. Jason, whom Bawn describes as “charismatic, messy in the best way, deeply rooted, and funny as hell when it counts,” represents the power of community and the strength of living authentically.
With its blend of romance, humor, and social commentary, Almost Us pushes queer storytelling beyond the usual coming-out narrative to explore bigger themes around class, power, and belonging. “Queer stories aren’t just about identity,” Bawn says. “They’re about power, class, and how the past complicates the future. The film asks: who gets to be free, and what systems quietly decide that?”
Even the title hints at that emotional push and pull. “’Almost Us’ is the ache of a future that’s within reach but not guaranteed,” Bawn explains. “It’s about that painful space between possibility and commitment, between almost and actual.”
If you’re curious to see how this complicated romance unfolds, make sure to check out the trailer for Almost Us below.
The film premieres April 17 exclusively on WatchVIM, a free LGBTQ+ streaming platform created by Anthony Bawn himself. So go ahead and mark your calendars, folks, and don’t miss this new queer rom-com when it arrives. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the world could always use more queer love stories (and especially more queer rom-coms).
Almost Us will premiere exclusively on WatchVIM on April 17. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Image Courtesy of WatchVIM.
