Image courtesy of Regent Releasing, Inc.
 |  | Get Showtimes... |
Review #244 of 365
Film: Poster Boy (2006) [R] 98 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 12 September 2006
Time: 5:20 p.m.
Directed by: Zak Tucker
Written by: Lecia Rosenthal & Ryan Shiraki
Featured Cast (Where I Remember Him/Her From):
Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) • Michael Lerner (Art School Confidential) • Matt Newton ("Drake & Josh" & "Gilmore Girls") • Jack Noseworthy (Phat Girlz) • Valerie Geffner ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") • Ian Reed Kesler ("The Loop")
Official Movie Site: Poster Boy
 |
DVD |
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
If you are a conspiracy theorist, you might begin to wonder why a fictional film that features a story line involving the revelation that a right-wing, ultra-conservative, three-term Senator from North Carolina, son is gay just as he begins his run for a fourth term was filmed and pre-2004, won the Outfest 2004 Grand Jury award for best screenwriting, the lead actors go on to star in other movies and tv shows in the mean time, and the finished product finally gets released via the independent movie scene two years and a half years later. Hmm, could it be that a lot of people in the mainstream entertainment industry worried that the story line is still to controversial for a nation with a major party in power that continues to hate monger, work to write discriminatory practices into the constitutions of the states, and use homosexuality as a flash point in its campaign strategies? Could it be that? It could be, but that would only be one hypothesis. The good thing is that the film is finally, out, so to speak. The bad thing is that not too many people will end up getting a chance to see it until it comes to DVD.
"…fair and honest, and probably less fictional than most people realize or want to realize."
Despite some lower scale production results where the filming and cinematography lack the crispness of a major motion picture or a more well-funded independent film, Poster Boy's success as a film comes from its story and its message. The story, overly-simplified above, takes us, via flashbacks as Henry Kray (Matt Newton), son of the venerable senator of the far right, Jack Kray (Michael Lerner), and his doorstop of a wife, Eunice (Karen Allen), reveals to a reporter his side of the story and "the kiss" that he feels ultimately and ironically won his father another term in the senate. At an early age, Henry realizes he is not attracted to girls, and he begins his closeted life of dangerous encounters with older boys and men to achieve 'relationships' and sex that he cannot acquire in a heterosexually controlled world. His highly controlling father raises him from birth to become the dutiful son and do exactly as he is told so that he never interferes with the success of his father's politics. To the best of his ability, Henry always complies and acquiesces to the wishes of his mother who just tires to do the best by her son. Things come to a head when Henry goes off to college, and his father makes a federal case about wanting him to introduce him at his speech arranged to be given on campus by the Young Republicans group. Henry has finally reached a point in his life when he can no longer, in good conscience support his father who preaches on and on about the vital need to reclaim American family values, while simultaneously missing every one of his baseball games, school conferences, or anything really to do with the growing up of his son. His mind has done such a good defensive job, it doesn't allow him to grasp the pain it endures on a daily basis as his father preaches hatred toward gay people. In effect with every "good family values" and "gay people cannot marry" and "gay people should not be allowed to adopt children" speech he is saying, maybe without knowing it, "Son, I hate you." But, as Henry has gotten older and more rebellious, he can no longer stand the hypocrisy of his father's politics. So, he decides to quit college and go to live in Palm Springs and escape his commitment to his father's campaign and political games. His mother, however, knows how to work him, and sends his friend Skip (Ian Reed Kesler) to bring him back. After threatening to 'out' him to his father, Skip manages to convince Henry to go back to school, and to introduce his father at his big speech. In the backdrop, we meet NYC residents Anthony (Jack Noseworthy) and his roommate, Izzie (Valerie Geffner). Anthony, age 29, was in Act Up and has spent his formative years trying to make a difference in the world for gay people. Izzie, got HIV from her boyfriend who is now deceased, and mothers Anthony while trying to make sense of her life. Their worlds collide as if fated when, on a lark, Anthony and Izzie, after a horrendous week of bad luck, crash a college party where Anthony has a chance encounter with far younger Henry, and the two strike up a one night stand—which, sadly, is all that Henry has ever known. He has had to keep himself anonymous his entire life. Try to imagine what that, alone, must have been like for him? Imagine the barriers one has to erect to life their entire life without every being allowed to get close to anyone for fear of discovery. When Anthony discovers the next morning, after being abandoned by Henry on an air mattress in the middle of the gymnasium, that the kid was not just any Henry, but the son of his mortal enemy, the man who has preached hate toward him for as long as he has lived, the senator from North Carolina, Jack Kray, well, the gloves come off, and he decides to seize this opportunity to exact revenge by 'outting' Henry during his father's speech in an attempt to destroy his father's career. What he does not expect, is that (a) he might have really fallen in love with Henry, nor (b) that it might be reciprocal.
Matt Newton does an excellent job of capturing the emotions of Henry which vacillate between outrage, endurance, loyalty, cynicism, love, hate, and self-loathing. Henry has been raised to hate himself, and therefore, he struggles not to really know who he is. Michael Lerner does an outstanding job of the spin-doctoring senator who crosses every line to keep his power. Karen Allen is both touching yet spunky as the Senator's wife. Crucial to the success of the film was that Jack Noseworthy's portrayal of Anthony seem realistic. We have to see a connection between him and Henry. All in all, the acting is quite good.
One of the most powerful and important things that Henry says to the reporter while spilling his guts for the story he wants to come out, basically boils down to that he has grown sick and tired of all the efforts in politics to divide the people of the USA and pit them against each other. First, you come up with a bunch of differences between people, no matter how insignificant, then you label the differences, then you use these to create factions to oppose each other. Way too little time is spent trying to create ties that bind. It's easier to win an election if you can create two camps, get one on your side, and hope your camp is bigger than the other. Theoretically, wouldn't it be easier to win an election if you had everyone voting for you instead of just one of two camps you created? Probably, yet that is neither the path nor the strategy selected by the vast majority of people running for office in the USA. Perhaps this is what is most wrong with the current political system. It has evolved into one that creates opponents, mud slinging, winners, and losers. Instead of electing the best leaders, voter select political messages designed to misdirect from real issues. Henry says, "Is a farmer in Kansas really affected by two guys getting married in Vermont?" Obviously not, but the issue is used by politicians to polarize people on both sides while huge percentages of the general population go through life each day, living in the nation with one of the best health care systems in the world, unable to access it due to a lack of universal health care and unable to afford health insurance, there are hundreds of thousands of people without homes, and an unacceptably high percentage of children live below the poverty level. Few politicians these days campaign with solutions to these and countless other social issues that really matter, and that is the great tragedy of our times and the sad legacy the current leadership is leaving for future generations to solve. While Poster Boy makes for some good drama, it is truly an important political mockumentary-style film designed to illustrate these and other political problems in the government of the USA today. It does this in a way that is fair and honest, and probably less fictional than most people realize or want to realize. One of the things one would think we might know at this state in the evolution of the human mind, is that you cannot legislate who people love.
Matt Newton does an excellent job of capturing the emotions of Henry which vacillate between outrage, endurance, loyalty, cynicism, love, hate, and self-loathing. Henry has been raised to hate himself, and therefore, he struggles not to really know who he is. Michael Lerner does an outstanding job of the spin-doctoring senator who crosses every line to keep his power. Karen Allen is both touching yet spunky as the Senator's wife. Crucial to the success of the film was that Jack Noseworthy's portrayal of Anthony seem realistic. We have to see a connection between him and Henry. All in all, the acting is quite good.
One of the most powerful and important things that Henry says to the reporter while spilling his guts for the story he wants to come out, basically boils down to that he has grown sick and tired of all the efforts in politics to divide the people of the USA and pit them against each other. First, you come up with a bunch of differences between people, no matter how insignificant, then you label the differences, then you use these to create factions to oppose each other. Way too little time is spent trying to create ties that bind. It's easier to win an election if you can create two camps, get one on your side, and hope your camp is bigger than the other. Theoretically, wouldn't it be easier to win an election if you had everyone voting for you instead of just one of two camps you created? Probably, yet that is neither the path nor the strategy selected by the vast majority of people running for office in the USA. Perhaps this is what is most wrong with the current political system. It has evolved into one that creates opponents, mud slinging, winners, and losers. Instead of electing the best leaders, voter select political messages designed to misdirect from real issues. Henry says, "Is a farmer in Kansas really affected by two guys getting married in Vermont?" Obviously not, but the issue is used by politicians to polarize people on both sides while huge percentages of the general population go through life each day, living in the nation with one of the best health care systems in the world, unable to access it due to a lack of universal health care and unable to afford health insurance, there are hundreds of thousands of people without homes, and an unacceptably high percentage of children live below the poverty level. Few politicians these days campaign with solutions to these and countless other social issues that really matter, and that is the great tragedy of our times and the sad legacy the current leadership is leaving for future generations to solve. While Poster Boy makes for some good drama, it is truly an important political mockumentary-style film designed to illustrate these and other political problems in the government of the USA today. It does this in a way that is fair and honest, and probably less fictional than most people realize or want to realize. One of the things one would think we might know at this state in the evolution of the human mind, is that you cannot legislate who people love.
Back to Top | W.I.P. Scale™ | Most Recently Reviewed Films | Films of 2005 | Films of 2006
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Poster Boy [DVD] (2004)
Other Projects Featuring Poster Boy (2006) Cast Members
Karen Allen
• Michael Lerner• Matt NewtonJack Noseworthy
• Valerie Geffner• Ian Reed Kesler| DVD |
Poster Boy (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Despite some lower scale production results where the filming and cinematography lack the crispness of a major motion picture or a more well-funded independent film, Poster Boy's success as a film comes from its Outfest 2004 Grand Jury award-winning screenwriting and its message. It is the story of the outing of a right-wing, ultra-conservative, three-term, North Carolinian Senator's son, Henry Kray (Matt Newton), just as he begins his run for a fourth term. After years of trying to be dutiful, Henry is done being the Poster Boy for the perfect family and begins to rebel despite pleading from his mother (Karen Allen). This is an intriguing film that takes a hard line look at the practice of using prejudice and hate messages for political gain. Isn't it time politicians in the USA focus on real and important issues rather than trying to legislate who people can love?
No comments:
Post a Comment