Henry Gamble's Birthday Party

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stephen Cone
Produced by	Stephen Cone Bryan Hart Laura Klein Michael A. Leppen Shane Simmons
Written by	Stephen Cone
Starring	Cole Doman Pat Healy Elizabeth Laidlaw Nina Ganet Tyler Ross Francis Guinan Hanna Dworkin Meg Thalken
Music by	Page Campbell Daniel Donahue Heather McIntosh
Cinematography	Jason Chiu
Edited by	Stephen Cone (uncredited)
Distributed by	Wolfe Video
Release date	May 7, 2015
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party is a 2015 drama film written and directed by Stephen Cone.

The film had a principle production schedule of 18 days.

The film was premiered on May 7, 2015 at the Maryland Film Festival. The film later premiered in New York City at the BAMcinemaFest on June 25, 2015.

On September 8, 2015, it was reported that Wolfe Video had acquired the rights to Henry Gamble's Birthday Party with plans to distribute the film on VOD and DVD in early 2016.

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party received a generally positive response from critics. The film holds a 71% positive "Fresh" rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 59 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as a "somewhat less successful" work than Cone's similarly themed 2011 film The Wise Kids, but nevertheless lauded, "The film works best in its quieter moments, especially in its touching climactic scene in which Henry, sensitively portrayed by Doman in his film debut, finally allows himself to act on his suppressed impulses. It adds a welcome hopeful note to the preceding turmoil, reminding us yet again that the heart inevitably wants what it wants." Carson Kohler of Vox also praised the film, writing, "There are so many substantial issues that this birthday party illuminates. Sexuality. The church. Sexuality and the church. And that’s one line of the issues." Joe Ehrman-Dupre of Indiewire praised the film as "miraculous" and wrote:

"It's very difficult for me to hate people," Stephen Cone tells me, and I believe him. If he were a vengeful writer, or an angry director—if he didn’t care so damn much about each and every one of his characters—this "Birthday Party" would quickly devolve into stereotypical zealot madness. As it stands, though, Henry Gamble has surrounded himself with complex, difficult, frustrated people. Essentially, people with stories, just like you and me.