I have seen many, many teenage coming-of-age/coming-out films, and frankly I've grown a bit tired of them· I therefore approached Get Real with some dread and out of a sense of viewing obligation· While the film was released in 1998, I had only recently become aware of it; I was told it was a "classic" and "essential·" It has been some sixty years since I was in high school, and some twenty years since this film was made· There has been a sea-change in European and Western societal attitudes since then· But in spite of these changes, much remains the same· I identify my feelings back in my school days as not being all that different from what Steven and John are experiencing here in this movie· I certainly had no "coming-out" urges-didn't even know what it meant to be out· And I miss not having had the opportunity of a relationship with one of my peers-although I fantasized it· While perhaps not a great film, it feels real with fine acting and cinematography· Well worth viewing, especially for youth of the age, and their parents·