AIFF - How To Be and Dream Boy

How to Be didn't work for me. I'm sure there are people like the main character whose father doesn't pay attention to him and whose mother is constantly saying things like, "There was always something odd about you." The kid is trying hard to overcome this, but he's whiny, kicks things a lot, and just doesn't fit in anywhere.

Lots of people have made good movies about people like that. And the story line - the kid finds a book called "It's not your fault" and invites the author to move into the house and observe the family as part of his therapy - is original. But the film just didn't come together for me. There has to be (for me) some reason to sit and watch this basically decent, but thoroughly childish, character rant for an hour. That reason never came. I didn't get any real insight into what was wrong with him or what sorts of things might help. The self-help author was - in my mind - a total quack.

If this had been a documentary, documenting someone's psychological issues it might have worked. If we got some insight into something (more than the mother saying the boy reminded her of her obnoxious older brother) it might have worked. And I don't mind a plotless movie either, except then the parts have to be worth watching and these, for me, just weren't. There was scene after scene - the skateboard park, some of the bar scenes - where I have no idea what those scenes added to the movie.

But then we saw Dream Boy. This was a beautifully made film, lush as its Louisiana setting, about young gay love - sweet and genuine - in a hostile environment. I was immediately sucked into the story. At first I wondered if this could be told just with film. It seemed there was so much inside Nathan's head that we needed to know for this to work. But somehow the story was all revealed - only a bit through few flashbacks. [Dream Boy picture link -pictures rotate.]And James Bolton, whom I got very briefly on video the other night, answered questions after the movie. Some questions he addresses:
How has the film been received in Europe?
How could the 17 year old drive the school bus?
How'd you get Rickie Lee Jones in the movie?
Was the cast preselected, or did you open it up, or?
Were the lead actors gay?

Viddler was down, so I've uploaded this one on YouTube.





This YouTube clip I found has a couple of scenes from the movie.