Corey Fogelmanis Never Felt More ‘Free and Cute’ Than in ‘I Wish You All the Best’

Corey Fogelmanis says he’s never felt more “free and cute” than when he was filming the coming-of-age movie I Wish You All the Best, often dressed in director Tommy Dorfman’s own clothes.

In the adaptation of Mason Deaver’s young adult novel — which had its theatrical release on Nov. 7 and will release on digital on Nov. 25 — Fogelmanis plays teenager Ben De Backer, who is kicked out of their home after they come out to their parents as nonbinary. But the story doesn’t end with trauma; instead, Dorfman weaves together a moving narrative about found family, queer community, and finding the courage to be who you are and go after what you want.

Clothing is a crucial piece of that journey: at the beginning of the film, Ben tends to hide in baggy jeans and hoodies. As they learn more about themself, and as they fall in love with Nathan (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), they embrace color, softness, and texture; tank tops, skirts, and fuzzy sweaters.

“There were so many clothes, and people were talking a lot about what [is] Ben’s presentation. We called it drag, basically,” Fogelmanis tells Teen Vogue during an interview in August about how Ben chooses to dress when they’re not as comfortable being out. “The idea of presenting as a form of protection is something that I think we all do in some capacity, even if we’re not aware of it. It was Tommy who put that into words for me.”