There was a surreal moment in local Tampa pop culture when someone casually dropped into conversation:
“Hey — Haley Joel Osment is shooting a movie here.”
And the reaction was universal:
Wait… THE Haley Joel Osment? The I-see-dead-people kid? HERE?
But yes — in 2013ish Tampa weirdness — he arrived, and he wasn’t ghost-haunted, solemn, or carrying the weight of child-celebrity mystique.
He was here to film “Sex Ed” — a comedic indie flick that traded spectral horror for awkward intimacy and empathetic humor.
A Different Haley Joel Osment
This wasn’t the pale-faced child with telepathic sadness.
This was Osment as an adult — fuller, funnier, looser — with a presence that felt both grounded and self-aware.
You could tell he was relishing the shift.
This wasn’t typecasting escape — it was identity rebirth.
Shooting in Tampa — And Making It Look Like It Matters
Tampa isn’t typically treated as a film capital.
We’re more known for:
- humidity
- strip malls
- dive bars
- pirate festivals
But that’s what made this special — there was something wonderfully absurd and charming about seeing camera crews on local streets, lighting rigs outside unglamorous storefronts, actors walking long takes past recognizable Tampa landmarks.
It felt like our city was being seen.
Not as “generic city location.”
But as Tampa.
The Premise of “Sex Ed” — And Why It Works
Osment plays Eddie — a substitute teacher who unexpectedly finds himself giving sex-ed guidance to middle school students who are woefully uninformed.
Cue:
- awkward questions
- tender human humor
- accidental confessions
- adult-life-messiness juxtaposed with adolescent confusion
It’s a growth story — and not just for the kids.
The Weirdest, Coolest Part: Test Screening for Locals
The original post referenced a first edit viewing, where the public could give feedback.
Let me repeat that:
Not agents.
Not producers.
Not industry execs.
Regular Tampa humans.
There is something punk-rock about that.
You’re effectively saying:
“We care what the community thinks.”
That’s indie filmmaking at its best.
Osment’s Comedic Sensibility
This film unlocked something in Osment that many didn’t expect:
He’s funny.
Like naturally funny.
Not sitcom-trained.
Not sarcasm-forced.
Not meme-ready.
He has this slightly bewildered, earnest, exasperated timing that works beautifully with the film’s tone.
And it proves something:
Former child actors don’t have to spend adulthood wrestling their past.
Sometimes — they dance around it.
Tampa as Cinematic Texture
It’s not a gimmick.
It’s not a punchline.
It’s background flavor:
- humid air
- sun-burnt streets
- pastel-washed skies
- Gulf-light reflections on windows
The film ended up capturing something subtle:
a Tampa feeling.
The Takeaway
Seeing Haley Joel Osment walk around Tampa — filming, acting, laughing — was this oddly heartwarming reminder that:
- big names can show up in unexpected places
- indie films can bloom anywhere
- nostalgia doesn’t have to define an actor forever
- Tampa has creative gravity
Osment didn’t come here to haunt us with dead people.
He came here to make a comedy, hang with locals, and try something new.
And Tampa was the perfect weird-wonderful crucible for it.