The Love Song of Sawyer Bell

The energetic but emotionally inconsistent opener to Gale’s Tour Dates series makes its musicians a little too clean and its friendships a little too sincere, and despite its adorable queer central couple, its cultural vibe is just a little too straight. Juilliard violinist and inexperienced lesbian Sawyer Bell bails on the expected summer string ensemble to hit the road as fiddler for the indie Americana band led by her bisexual high school crush, Victoria “Vix” Vincent. Sawyer and Vix’s happy moments playing music or joking around feel warm, and their sex scenes are hot if a bit uncreative, but their fights all feel stereotyped and stilted. Sawyer’s life outside the band is unnaturally stylized: panic attacks that stopped her summer auditions don’t reappear during live performances or with her relationship stresses, her decision to stop communicating with her parents is mismatched with her overall cautious style, and her career presentation to a high school music class is an awkward vehicle for a “do what you love” speech. However, Gale (Coach’s Challenge) lets her love of the bar music scene come through, and there’s a lot of fun in the band banter. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Oct.)