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Poster Boy

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Poster Boy (2006)

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22 %
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Reviews Counted: 18

Fresh: 4

Rotten:14

Average Rating: 4.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release: Aug 18, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: This seething political drama stars Matt Newton as Henry, the closeted homosexual son of a rabidly right wing senator (Michael Lerner, who is terrifying). Known in liberal circles as "the Nazi from North Carolina," the senator is... This seething political drama stars Matt Newton as Henry, the closeted homosexual son of a rabidly right wing senator (Michael Lerner, who is terrifying). Known in liberal circles as "the Nazi from North Carolina," the senator is determined to use his college-age son to win the young people's vote at an upcoming rally. Understandably scared to come out to his bullying father, Henry finds himself snared in a take-no-prisoners battle with his conscience and his circumstance, especially when he's seduced by a boy at college named Anthony (Jack Noseworthy), who turns out to be a staunch pro-gay activist with a plan to out Henry and subsequently sully the senator's red-state reputation. Framed within the context of a newspaper interview, the story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, which director Zak Tucker captures with dynamic handheld camera work and jumpy editing (an impressive debut, especially considering he stepped in at the last minute after the original director bailed right before shooting started). Karen Allen is a welcome face as the senator's long-suffering wife, a woman who has chosen booze and gracious living over the important things in life. Valerie Geffner is also memorable as Anthony's HIV-positive roommate and co-conspirator. The script from Ryan Shiraki and Lecia Rosenthal provides lots of sub-plots, trenchant political discourse, and big soap-opera-style confrontations, all of which the talented cast is more than game for. [More]

Starring: Matt Newton, Karen Allen, Michael Lerner, Jack Noseworthy

Starring: Matt Newton, Karen Allen, Michael Lerner, Jack Noseworthy

Director: Zak Tucker

Director: Zak Tucker
Screenwriter: Lecia Rosenthal, Ryan Shiraki
Studio: Regent Releasing

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Release:

Nov 14, 2006

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Reviews for Poster Boy

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1 - 18 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

We all sat around in college having the sort of angry liberal rap sessions that this film painstakingly recreates. We don't have to relive them now.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/02/06
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image

Offers an affirmation that conservatives are not ready to cast that proverbial first stone.

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment Comment
10/30/06
Phil Hall
EDGE Boston
Ratings Image

The people do not reduce to issues, but we know they will hit their issues marks reliably.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
09/22/06
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune
Ratings Image

While the movie's discussion points certainly rank on par with those political thrillers, there's not enough substance for the movie to succeed on its own merits, a point underscored by posters selling the movie on Newton's perfectly airbrushed chest.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
09/15/06
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald
Ratings Image

A polemic masquerading as a movie, Poster Boy unspools like a humorless lecture on right-wing homophobia.

comment Comment
08/28/06
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
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Although audiences will admire the film's do-it-yourself energy and commitment, Poster Boy finally collapses of its own contrived weight, deflating just when it should soar into madcap -- or at least thoughtful -- satire.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/25/06
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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An overwrought story of American politics and image-making that really only gets interesting in the final act.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/25/06
Janice Page
Boston Globe
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Ratings Image

The film touches on a number of hot-button issues, including homophobia, the ethics of outing, and the intersection of public and private lives, but it suffers from an excess of subplots.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/18/06
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image

Some clunky writing and a distracting subplot limit the effectiveness of this ambitious low-budget indie.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
08/18/06
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle
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Poster Boy is a muddled coming-out movie that, for no good reason, unfolds flashback style as Henry tells his story to a sleazy newspaper reporter.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/18/06
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
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Tucker's heart is in the right place. His work, however, isn't: Lectures belong in school, not in the movie theater.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
08/18/06
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
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Even with satisfying performances from the principal actors, Poster Boy is longer on energy than focus.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/10/06
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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Ratings Image

Director Zak Tucker is a bit too fond of jump cuts as signifiers of edginess. Still, when the material doesn't get in the way he's pretty good at getting across the emotional content.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/10/06
Hank Sartin
Chicago Reader
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Ratings Image

Coming during a period in which the collision of politics and gay rights has created perhaps unprecedented sparks, Poster Boy is a flawed but absorbing drama.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/10/06
David Rooney
Variety
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Ratings Image

The tale is unnecessarily fractured and becomes increasingly didactic as it collapses into a mess of shrill big-screen activism and smugly relayed leftist ideals.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
08/10/06
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly
Ratings Image

Screenwriters Ryan Shiraki and Lecia Rosenthal exploit red state/blue state tensions, scripting an act-up soap opera that unintelligently panders to pro-gay sentiment.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
07/13/06
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
Ratings Image

Aside from topicality and good intentions, the film is reasonably engaging and well acted. But it's also more than a little bit overwrought.

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/11/04
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide
Ratings Image

By the final half-hour, Poster Boy manages a surprising amount of magnetism.

Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | comment Comment
04/23/04
Gabriel Shanks
Mixed Reviews
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Latest News for Poster Boy

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