The sex-obsessed college students in Gregg Araki’s “Kaboom” all seem to be working toward an STD degree. As Smith (Thomas Dekker) says, “I’m 18 and perpetually horny.” This being the 21st century his lust knows no gender boundaries. His best friend Stella (Haley Bennett) says he’s “probably a 3 or 4 on the Kinsey Scale,” while he describes himself as “undeclared.”
Araki himself has become more bisexual, both in his films and his private life, since his days as one of the poster boys for the New Queer Cinema of the early ‘90s. While it’s unquestionably gay-positive, “Kaboom” would score no higher on Kinsey than its protagonist.
Indeed, Smith’s only repeat sexual partner is a woman, London (Juno Temple), although he fantasizes about his “excruciatingly hot straight roommate” Thor (Chris Zylka), “a surfer, dumb as a box of rocks”; flirts with Oliver (Brennan Mejia), hooks up with Hunter (Jason Olive) at a nude beach and gets a surprise “gift” from London on his 19th birthday.