The Mudge Boy (2003)

Better Late Then Never

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

this film is about a boy who is brought up in isolation with his mother which he was very close to, and his father whom he looked up to but never got the same response in affection as he did with his mother. thus creating an imbalance in the emotional side in Duncan.as children we always emulate our (loving)parents. and as children we learn 95% FROM WHAT WE SEE AS WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PARENTS OR ADULT WANTS when they speak. its amazing how that point is never brought up.so when Dun can's mother died so did the emotional security that instinctive feeling of nothing can go wrong.Duncan tries his father but fails to get the response.AND LIKE WE ALWAYS DO AS HUMANS, WHEN WE FAIL WITH THE FAMILY WE TRY TO GET IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE FROM AND WHAT PRICE WE PAY, AS LONG AS WE GET THAT EMOTIONAL FIX, THAT SECURITY BLANKET THAT FEELING. DUNCAN'S journey manifested into a homosexual experience because of the refusal of the father. Duncan didn't have a problem with his mother, he churned the affection of his father and if it meant that Duncan would make himself to be like his mother to get it he will. and he did. the end of the movie Duncan gets what he wanted. the affection of his father.

There are two good aspects of this movie:1. Emile Hirsch's acting really stands out (he's not bad shirtless either)2. It does a good job of showing how forcing yourself into the closet twists you in unpleasant ways.Beyond that, the movie is pointless and goes nowhere, nothing more than a brief window into disturbed lives. They don't get much out of the experience, and neither do we.Since IMDb seems to think that reviews have to be wordy to be worth posting, I'll add that in some places, the movie plods (and I *don't* think movie has to be an action movie to be good: Maurice is one of my favorites). I have to give additional points to Emile for being willing to do some of the things it looks like he did for real with the chicken too (though I doubt the last bit was for real, hopefully).

Look around us, you will find many persons from this movie, you will find yourself. When we lose something somebody, we really need a hug a talk,whatever anything. When we are lonely, we also need to pursue something, to release ourselves.It's not about living in the village or big city, it's just different way to show a kind of period in our life. In this movie, the director built a small society for us, and we always follow the kid Dunkan, we become him, from his eyes feel his feeling, look for what we need.No happy thing happened during this movie, there are several happy moments, we can feel them from Dunkan's eyes, but they're killed by the following affairs. It's like in our life there is a period, bad period, we know finally we will walk out, but we have to face it, no other choice, the director showed this period for us, nothing bored, nothing retarded,except swallowing the chicken head, oh, man, it really cannot make me calm down, I know there is something will happen with this chicken, 'cause Dunkan has to give up his relying, but at the last moment, when he do it, I'm still shocked,the actors played so good, so natural. There are so many shitty, commercial movies today, but the Mudge boy, it's impressive, didn't waste my time.

Great performance by Emile Hirsch, who more recently appeared in 'Into the Wild'. He perfectly captures the impossible isolation, confusion, and tumult of an adolescent wrestling with his mother's sudden death, his father's stoic ineptitude, and his sexuality, all in a rural middle-of-nowhere populated by an older group of (unfortunately stereotypical) redneck teens. However, like the pet chicken, the movie seemed to die a premature death--another 20 minutes or so to add some denouement would have helped. Also, as in Brokeback Mountain, the sudden sex depicted was the Hollywood equivalent of Bruce Willis surviving a fall from a 20 story building--a normal person would have needed surgery afterwards.