Friday Flicks: ‘My Friend Dahmer’, ‘Lady Bird’, ‘Most Beautiful Island’

Weekend viewing once leaned on theatrical calendars, but streaming libraries now shape how audiences revisit independent films from the late 2010s. This edition looks back at four titles that opened in limited release during 2017, including the adaptation centered on Jeffrey Dahmer’s teenage years, Greta Gerwig’s solo debut, a documentary about marriage equality in northern Mexico, and a tense character study of an undocumented immigrant in New York. Each section below refreshes release details and notes later cultural ripples without altering the original cast lists or plot outlines.

My Friend Dahmer (FilmRise Releasing)

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1999, cementing him as one of history’s most infamous serial killers. This is the story before that story. Directed by Marc Meyers (How He Fell in Love), My Friend Dahmer is based on Derf Backderf’s graphic novel of the same name, recounting his time in high school with the would-be Milwaukee Cannibal. Haunting and darkly funny, the film stars Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally), Alex Wolff (The Sitter), Anne Heche (Donnie Brasco), and Dallas Roberts (Walk the Line).

The picture opened November 3, 2017, in select theaters. It now streams on Netflix and Prime Video, allowing fresh viewers to trace the early signs of isolation and compulsion that later defined Dahmer’s crimes. The source graphic novel faced school-district challenges in Leander ISD, Texas, in 2021 and Alpine School District, Utah, in 2022. Author Derf Backderf noted that objections centered on the subject’s later crimes rather than explicit content within the book itself.

Lady Bird (A24 Films)

Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, Lady Bird is a stirring and intimate look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unparalleled beauty of a place called home. In her solo directorial debut, Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) establishes herself as a “bold new cinematic voice”, diving into the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter. Stars Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), Odeya Rush (We Are What We Are), Tracy Letts (The Big Short), and Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea).

The film earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Its portrait of a restless senior year continues to resonate on streaming platforms, where many viewers first encountered it years after its initial run.

No Dress Code Required (Outsider Pictures)

No Dress Code Required delves into the story of Victor and Fernando, two salon owners well known among their local community for beautifying Mexicali socialites. They’re a couple in love who want to marry. The only problem? It isn’t legal, since they’re both male. When their friends and clientele turn their backs on them, they refuse to back down, determined to become the first gay couple in Baja California, Mexico to marry. In this incredibly poignant and eye-opening documentary, filmmaker Cristina Herrera Borquez charts their fight against homophobia and inequality.

The 2017 documentary captured a moment when legal recognition remained out of reach for same-sex couples in that region. Its record of community resistance and quiet persistence stands as a primary source for anyone studying marriage-equality campaigns south of the border.

Most Beautiful Island (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Written and directed by Ana Asensio, Most Beautiful Island follows one harrowing day in the life of Luciana, a young immigrant struggling to make ends meet while striving to escape her past. Shot on Super 16mm film and featuring an intimate, voyeuristic sensibility, Most Beautiful Island has been dubbed a psychological thriller offering a glimpse into the life of undocumented female immigrants hoping to make a life in New York City. Stars Asensio (Zenith), Natasha Romanova (Shoe Lady), David Little (The Wizard of Lies), Nicholas Tucci (You’re Next), and Larry Fessenden (Psychopaths).

The 2017 drama remains a compact, unsettling window into survival economics that many newcomers still navigate. Its restrained technique and focus on one ordinary yet perilous day continue to draw festival programmers revisiting immigrant narratives on modest budgets.

Streaming Availability and Legacy

Both My Friend Dahmer and Lady Bird now appear regularly on Netflix and Prime Video rotation lists, which has extended their reach far beyond the original limited theatrical windows. Viewers who missed the 2017 runs can now queue either picture without hunting physical media or festival archives. The shift illustrates how catalog titles from that year have settled into steady rotation rather than disappearing after their initial press cycles.

My Friend Dahmer Graphic Novel Bans

School challenges to Derf Backderf’s source material surfaced years after the film’s release. In 2021, Leander ISD in Texas removed copies; Alpine School District in Utah followed in 2022. Backderf responded that the objections largely referenced Dahmer’s adult crimes rather than any graphic material inside the high-school memoir itself. The incidents placed the book alongside other nonfiction titles facing content-review processes in public education settings.

Greta Gerwig's Career Trajectory

After Lady Bird, Gerwig directed the 2019 adaptation of Little Women and the 2023 blockbuster Barbie. Both projects expanded her range from intimate character work to large-scale studio productions while preserving the emotional precision first noted in her debut. The five Oscar nominations Lady Bird received served as an early signal that her voice would continue shaping studio and independent projects alike.

Dahmer in Popular Culture Since 2017

Interest in Jeffrey Dahmer portrayals has not slowed. The 2022 Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters, revisited the adult crimes in serialized form. Earlier screen versions include the 2002 biographical film Dahmer and the 2012 documentary The Jeffrey Dahmer Files. My Friend Dahmer occupies a distinct lane by concentrating on adolescence, yet each new depiction keeps the original case in public conversation and prompts renewed discussion of how media handles true-crime source material.

Together these four pictures from 2017 continue to circulate, whether through streaming catalogs, classroom debates, or later career milestones for their creators. Their endurance shows how modest releases can accumulate lasting relevance long after opening weekend tallies fade from the trades.