Poster Boy (2004)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Zak Tucker

Writers:

Lecia Rosenthal (writer)
Ryan Shiraki (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

With the help of a hot, slightly older new acquaintence (Noseworthy), the closeted son (Newton) of a conservative U.S. Senator (Lerner) puts a shocking spin on his dad's re-election campaign. |

Plot Keywords:

Senator | Gay Son | Political Campaign | Gay Bar | Election

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Noseworthy	...	Anthony
Valerie Geffner	...	Izzy
Matt Newton	...	Henry Kray
Austin Lysy	...	Parker
Tighe Swanson	...	Sam
Lorri Bagley	...	Dierdre
Neal Huff	...	Marcus
Ian Reed Kesler	...	Skip Franklin (as Ian Kessler)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	...	Charlie
Karen Allen	...	Eunice Kray
Michael Lerner	...	Jack Kray
Anna Thomson	...	Emma
Spiro Malas	...	Mr Phoenix
Kristen Schaal	...	Bookstore Lady #14
Tibor Feldman	...	Therapist

Also Known As:

Exposed (USA) (working title)
Poster Child (USA) (working title)
Shallow End (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity.

Runtime:

USA:98 min (Tribeca Film Festival) | Switzerland:104 min (Locarno Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Shallow Pictures LLC

Goofs:

Continuity: When Henry and Anthony are walking through the campus, Henry points out one of the girls walking ahead of them. Seconds later, you can clearly see her as an extra in the background.

Quotes:

Anthony: Oh well that really sucks, because ya see I just found this great country house with an herb garden and a fish pond that we could move into this weekend. And there's this little Bosnian girl, I... I just got her off of eBay last week and she's desparate for two daddies. So I think we'd make a great family, don't you? I mean do you have a u-haul, 'cause uh... Well, we could rent one.

Movie Connections:

References MTV Video Music Awards 2003 (2003) (TV)

An above average film marred by a couple bad decisions

A technical quibble first: my hearing is less than perfect, and Poster Boy has a lot of mumbled dialogue with no subtitles on the DVD. New films without subtitles are just inexcusable in my opinion--what is someone who is deaf supposed to do? Just not watch that film?

The best aspect of the film is the acting. The core cast are all fantastic. What didn't work so well for me was the cinematography, editing and the general low budget approach. The cinematography is mostly (or maybe all) hand-held, with a lot of shaky cam shots and a lot of blurriness. The film is loaded with overexposed shots and a dominance of white. While that may have been so for metaphorical reasons, it's not the most pleasant thing to watch aesthetically if it's relentless--and that's also not the best way to get the metaphorical aspects across. The editing is frequently frenetic. In combination with the locations, sets and general lack of music, Poster Boy has the feel of a 100-thousand dollar art house drama made by a director who is way too obsessed with The Blair Witch Project.

Fortunately, the story is better than that would suggest, although it's not perfect. This would have been far more on-target and controversial 15 years ago (given our present knowledge and overall lack of reaction to the sexuality of some political offspring), but it's still engaging enough, especially given the performances, and at any rate, it deals with important issues that are still far from resolved in our culture.