Boys Go to Jupiter is available to rent online. It was released theatrically on August 8, 2025.
By Elazar Abrahams
As we approach the end of the year, I find myself with a large backlog of articles that still need to be written. See, I got married this September, and while 2025 has been incredible because of that, it also meant that TV and City took a backseat. That’s valid, but there’s so much great entertainment out there that deserves to be shared with our readers. On top of that, I also accepted screeners and press tickets for a number of projects. Those perks come with the expectation that this site will be covering them, and I feel quite bad about that. Many of the shows and movies have long since premiered, and the theatrical productions closed as scheduled. Still, it feels only right to sit down, put pen to paper (or keyboard to screen, rather) and get these pieces out into the world. May 2026 bring more great times and excuses, and more good art into all our lives.
One of the first reviews I fell behind on was this indie flick called Boys Go to Jupiter. The title and animation style caught my attention. It’s a 90-minute coming-of-age story written and directed by Julian Glander, and set in suburban Florida in that strange dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s, following a teenager named Billy 5000 who is grinding on a food delivery app and trying to hit a very specific goal: $5,000 before the year ends.
It’s oddball and intentionally dreamy, the kind of movie that wants to feel like you fell asleep with your phone in your hand and woke up inside the internet.
I get why the small crowds that sought out this film are responding to it. The animation style is distinctive, the premise is of-the-moment, and the film is clearly trying to capture something real about hustle culture, gig work, and the weird spiritual emptiness that comes with treating money like a personality. The problem is that, for me, the movie never turned that vibe into something I actually felt invested in.
The biggest issue is that Boys Go to Jupiter plays like it is allergic to normalcy. It drifts. It floats. It meanders from one strange interaction to the next with a kind of deadpan looseness that can be charming in a short film or an Adult Swim package, but across a feature runtime it started to feel thin. The movie wants you to ride the wavelength, and I kept waiting for that moment where the story snaps into focus and gives you something to hold onto. It never really did.
That looseness also impacts the comedy. The film has plenty of funny ideas, but the humor is so dry and so committed to its own nonchalance that it rarely builds into anything that lands hard. It’s the type of comedic sensibility where you can admire the weirdness while still not laughing. I found myself appreciating what the movie was “doing” more than enjoying the experience of watching it.
And then there is the emotional core, or lack of one. Coming-of-age stories, even the weirdo ones, usually give you a character arc you can feel in your bones. Here, Billy’s goal is clear, but the movie feels more fascinated by the aesthetic of his grind than by the emotional consequences of it. The film is gesturing at something meaningful about modern work, money, and disconnection, so props for that at least.
All that said, I don’t think Boys Go to Jupiter is “bad.” I think it is incredibly specific, and that specificity will be catnip for the right viewer. If you love animation that feels handmade and wacky, if you enjoy films that are more mood than plot, or if you are particularly tuned into internet-era absurdism, you might find it delightful. But for me, it never clicked.
I give Boys Go to Jupiter a C+.
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