Sedgwick does her best with the material, but the script is enamored with cloying dialogue and irritating voiceover, and Bacon's direction relies on shtick and gimmicks. We got no love for Loverboy.
Loverboy (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:6
Rotten:28
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: The transition from novel to film is awkwardly executed, and Sedgwick's character, despite the attempts to make her sympathetic, merely comes across as creepy and crazy.
Theatrical Release:Jun 16, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Emily Stoll (Kyra Sedgwick) is a brilliant, beautiful and financially secure woman who never wanted a husband or a house with a picket fence. She knew she needed just one thing to make her truly... Emily Stoll (Kyra Sedgwick) is a brilliant, beautiful and financially secure woman who never wanted a husband or a house with a picket fence. She knew she needed just one thing to make her truly happy: a child with whom she could share life's wonders. The only child of lovebirds Marty and Sybil Stoll (Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei), Emily always felt like a third wheel, a by-product of her parents' intense romance. By the time she reaches her late 20s, Emily decides to forego marriage entirely and conceive a child on her own. An anonymous sexual encounter with an amiable businessman named Paul (Campbell Scott), results in the birth of her son, whom she names Paul (Dominic Scott Kay). Emily is astonished to find that her child is even more precious to her than she had imagined. The intense intimacy of motherhood finally gives her life passion and meaning Emily and her "Loverboy" settle down in a cozy home where she introduces him to the world as she sees it: a world of imagination, humor, literature and magic, but most importantly, a world meant for just the two of them. Creative and iconoclastic, Emily has no interest in polite social interaction. She shuns neighbors, school, potential lovers – any distractions that might take her away from Paul, or Paul away from her. Her single overriding passion is to help her precocious child reach his fullest potential and to protect him from what she sees as the stifling conformity purveyed by mediocre teachers and ordinary playmates. For six years, Emily manages to fend off attempts by well-meaning outsiders to penetrate the exclusive bond she shares with Paul. But, when Paul reaches school age and his natural curiosity begins to draw him to the outside world, Emily knows she has to find a way to hold on to him. No matter what, her "Loverboy" must always remain by her side. Critically-acclaimed actor Kevin Bacon has lent his talent to some of the most memorable filmmaking spanning four decades, from "Animal House" to "Diner" to "Apollo 13" to last year's Best Picture Oscar® nominee, "Mystic River" and most recently, "The Woodsman." Now Bacon steps behind the camera for a second time (directorial debut was Showtime's "Losing Chase") to helm "Loverboy," the chilling story of a woman whose desire to right the wrongs of her own desolate childhood leads to a heart-wrenching decision. --© THINKFilm [More]
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei, Oliver Platt, Campbell Scott, Melissa Errico, Sandra Bullock
Director: Kevin Bacon
Director: Kevin Bacon
Screenwriter: Victoria Redel, Hannah Shakespeare
Producer: Kevin Bacon, Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer
Composer: Michael Bacon
Studio: ThinkFilm
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Reviews for Loverboy
It makes for a deeply uncomfortable moviegoing experience -- but unfortunately not one with enough behavioral insight to justify the pain.
A grim little story, but it's leavened unexpectedly with humor and energy.
What's lacking here is the cold-eyed structure of a storyteller and filmmaker, both in the writing and the direction.
If the situations are intentionally unreal, Sedgwick's performance could not be more real.
Kevin Bacon (Sedgwick’s husband) can’t seem to decide if he’s making a film about a loving eccentric or a sociopath.
Long before the 86-minute film runs its course, you'll want to bolt from your seat and call Child Protective Services.
Too many visual gimmicks and a cast overburdened with big names in small roles soften Victoria Redel's acclaimed debut novel.
Except for the kid, what we have are a bunch of ageing ingénues grateful for the work and doing their best.
[Bacon's] overly stylized direction is distracting at first and then quickly becomes oppressive ...
Almost everything is annotated, or explained by incessant voice-over. This is its own form of suffocation, and the ideas and themes feel like they've been mothered too much.
The real trouble is at its core, with an over-the-top performance from Sedgwick that borders on Baby Jane campiness.
Loverboy may have been better suited to the page where it could have the subtlety and resonance missing on screen. As a film it works on only one level -- crazy love.
Remarkably unsubtle and by-the-numbers, and thanks to some curious plotting, it's also a bit shrill and unpleasant.
This film couple's vanity productions may keep them working but their fine talents are best realized under the direction of far better storytellers.
It all adds up to an unfortunate misfire: a film at odds with both its source material and itself.
Latest News for Loverboy
June 15, 2006:
Critical Consensus: Soggy "Nacho," Aimless "Drift," Untidy "House"
This week at the movies, we've got wrestlers ("Nacho Libre"), Tokyo drifters ("The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"), time-delayed lovers ("The Lake... More...
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