The Thing About Harry

As a favor to a friend, Sam Baselli reluctantly begins a road trip to his hometown with his high school bully Harry Turpin. On the open road, Harry casually reveals he is pansexual, a revelation that shocks Sam and leaves him grappling with the sense that they share a surprising, undeniable connection. Yet when they arrive, Harry ditches Sam to try and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, leaving Sam to ride home not just with miles behind him but with questions about desire, loyalty, and the messy truths of the past.

A year later, Sam encounters Harry at a party, and in a moment fueled by alcohol and old grievances, he calls Harry a slut—an insult that cuts deeper because of what they once meant to each other. His best friend Stasia pushes for a different path, urging Sam to see the possibility of something more, even if Sam remains wary about dating someone he already knows so well. The night leaves everyone unsettled and sets the stage for a shifting balance of power and affection between old tensions and new feelings.

Six months on, Sam walks a different road in his dating life. He is taken to a bar trivia night by his new boyfriend Paul, but when a trivia question lands on Harry’s side and Sam’s on Paul’s, Sam chooses Harry’s correct answer, prompting Paul to walk away and end that relationship. In the months that follow, Sam and Harry gradually grow closer as friends, their bond deepening in ways Sam hadn’t anticipated and making the old friction between them feel both inevitable and tempting.

During the Chicago Pride celebration, the bar becomes a venue for a painful, honest question: will Sam consider dating him now? Sam states clearly that he does not date friends, even as the tension between them continues to simmer. Not long after, Sam discovers Harry kissing Stasia, and the two of them begin a relationship. A brunch a few months later finds Sam drunk and blunt, predicting their relationship won’t last, a moment that strains his ties to both Stasia and Harry and nudges him toward reflection.

With encouragement from his roommate Casey, Sam begins exploring dating apps, hoping to gain clarity about his desires, but the experiments prove mixed and leave him wrestling with what he really wants. A year passes, and Stasia reconnects to ask Sam to be the best man at her wedding to Zach, revealing that she and Harry have since parted ways. At the wedding, Sam finally makes peace with Harry when the latter confesses his love, and they share a night together, a moment that reaffirms the strength of their connection.

Morning brings a new twist: Harry reveals he is moving away in a week, triggering Sam’s fear of abandonment and a renewed sense of mistrust. He pulls away, and Harry, in turn, watches from afar as Sam appears on TV at a political rally. Driven to face him, Harry sneaks into the rally, steps onto the stage, and apologizes, declaring that nothing matters more than staying together. A few years later, Sam and Harry are married and building a family together, their lives woven with patience, forgiveness, and a stubborn, enduring love.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:51