Almost Us turns the familiar best-friends-to-lovers trope into a heartfelt story about timing, friendship and feelings left unspoken, led by JM Ibarra and Fyang Smith.

...it's rare to have a love story with a character like Jay, in terms of being Black, and openly queer, non-monogamous, and non-apologetic about it, while actually showing someone of his body type having intense, intimate scenes.

It's refreshingly set in a queer Black culture beyond New York or Los Angeles. And a whiplash plot point sends the narrative in a direction that isn't remotely predictable.

And maybe that’s where Almost Us ultimately lands: in that "almost" space its title suggests. … It doesn’t quite come together in the way it intends, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value.