A polemic masquerading as a movie, Poster Boy unspools like a humorless lecture on right-wing homophobia.
Poster Boy (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:19
Fresh:5
Rotten:14
Average Rating:4.5/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some sexual content/nudity.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Television
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... 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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Reviews for Poster Boy
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.
The people do not reduce to issues, but we know they will hit their issues marks reliably.
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.
Offers an affirmation that conservatives are not ready to cast that proverbial first stone.
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.
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.
Some clunky writing and a distracting subplot limit the effectiveness of this ambitious low-budget indie.
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.
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.
An overwrought story of American politics and image-making that really only gets interesting in the final act.
Aside from topicality and good intentions, the film is reasonably engaging and well acted. But it's also more than a little bit overwrought.
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.
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.
By the final half-hour, Poster Boy manages a surprising amount of magnetism.
Even with satisfying performances from the principal actors, Poster Boy is longer on energy than focus.
Tucker's heart is in the right place. His work, however, isn't: Lectures belong in school, not in the movie theater.
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.
Latest News for Poster Boy
August 09, 2006:
Critical Consensus: A Brave New "World," A "Step" Down, And No Screenings for "Pulse" and "Zoom"
This week at the movies, we've got Oliver Stone paying tribute to the heroes of 9/11 ("World Trade Center," starring Nicolas Cage); two youngsters trying to start a... More...
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