Netflix’s ‘Boots’ is funny and charming, though its message becomes muddled the longer it goes on

On paper, “Boots” is a charming, feel-good coming-of-age story. Adapted from Greg Cope White’s memoir “The Pink Marine,” the Netflix series chronicles 18-year-old Cameron Cope’s (Miles Heizer) summer of 1990 as he, on what can only be described as a stunningly uninformed whim, decides to join the Marine Corps with his best friend and ships off to boot camp. 

The thing is, Cam’s shy, awkward, skinny, a pushover — and gay, at a time when it was illegal for anyone who wasn’t straight to join the U.S. military. (It would be three more years before “don’t ask, don’t tell” would be signed into law, and 18 years after that before DADT was repealed and gay, bisexual and lesbian members could serve openly.) Hazing rituals, brutal drills, screaming instructors and having to keep your sexuality a secret while surrounded by a bunch of fit, half-naked guys, some of whom might be, possibly, flirting with you? It’s easy to see the conundrum and how a coming-of-age story would play out.

But what starts as a comical journey of personal growth and self-discovery in a challenging environment devolves into something more muddled.

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Three “No, boot camp is nothing like summer camp!” stars out of five.

Photo caption: Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope in Episode 101 of “Boots.” (Courtesy of Netflix)