Worried About the Boy (2010)
In 1980 young George O'Dowd baffles his parents with his love of frocks and make-up and moves into a squat with kindred spirit Peter, who dresses as Marilyn Monroe and calls himself Marilyn. They make a splash at Steve Strange's trendy Blitz Club where George gets a job in the cloakroom but George is unlucky in his relationships with men until he meets wannabe musician Kirk. Through Kirk George meets the handsome drummer Jon Moss, on whom he develops a crush, but sacked by the Blitz and spurned by Kirk, George turns to Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren to further his music career. George's spell with McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow is short but fan Mikey North is impressed and asks George to sing in a group he is forming, where George again meets Jon. They will have an affair and the group will become the very successful Culture Club. Four years later, however, hounded by the tabloid press amid stories of his drug addiction, an unhappy George turns to Jon for advice on his future.
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I love this movie so much
Simply Perfect
Captivating movie !
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Sure, Culture Club were a pleasantly colourful English pop group from the wacky pastel-and-frills, gender-bending pop scene of the early 180s. I'm not a fan, although they did have a catchy song or two and an amusingly cute line with the press regarding sex, drugs and other facets of fame. However, I am an historian and an appreciator of bio-flicks, and this one does no-one any favours. Much of the movie's tiny budget seems to have been spent on costumes and makeup, and of course no-one goes outside for any length of time lest viewers catch sight of something which is not of the early 1980s. Also, I never knew that the interior of the famous Blitz club resembled someone's rather shabby living-room. Nor did I realise that the patrons were exactly the same every night or that they didn't seem to change their clothes. Unless of course the director simply filmed all of the scenes set at Blitz in one go to save money and time. There are virtually no contemporary period 1980s pop-songs, undoubtedly because the movie makers couldn't afford them. Instead there are cheesy 'approximations' of the likes of Duran Duran and New Order, along with much bland, anonymous 'techno' filler. George's brush with Malcom McLaren and Bow Wow Wow (ironically a band with a much more interesting story) is told, amid a confusing screenplay which makes much of confusing flash-backs and flash-forwards. Plus the time-period under consideration ends at 1987, so don't expect to see The (aged, balding) former Boy sweeping the streets to pay his debts to society. Okay, the acting is actually pretty good but sadly the movie is just another conspicuously cheap TV-movie styled bio-pic. And by the way, if you're waiting for Culture Club to form and start playing already, be prepared to sit it out until the very end and an incomplete, horribly-mimed rendition of 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?'
The costumes and setting of this drama looked amazing and I could not fault the lead performances, but it was so SLOW. I lasted one hour and the action could have been taken care of in half the time. And sex and drugs and rock and roll are never as interesting to watch as they are to participate in. Boy George's pre-fame antics did not make for interesting viewing.I was never a fan of Boy George but I always thought that he seemed a lovely, intelligent person and thankfully that view has not changed as a result of this drama, but not enough happened to keep my attention. And I don't remember seeing Mark Gatiss at all, unless he was in some effective 'League of Gentlemen' disguise. Did he appear in the first hour that I watched?
Just watched "Worried about the boy" based on Boy Georges' rise to fame,,,,,, Well,, talk about nostalgia brought it all back to me,,, i,e being different dressing to excess and not giving a fu**,( however during these times I did have a job and did not rob out of coat pockets..lol,,,What struck me about the movie was it seemed soo accurate in the music,,, the times,, clothes,, and the people on the scene,,,...Having not been to the Blitz club and admiring the movement from a distance I really enjoyed the pointing out of who was there,, ie Spandau,, Idol etc etc,, OOOh again I wished I had gone there,,, Enjoyed the kirk Brandon story,, Wow didn't know that happened umm, remember seeing him in Spear of Destiny ( wot a hunk) and just assuming he was a total straight man,,, well u never know apparently,,,, In a later court case about 1999 Brandon sought to prove George a liar over his autobiagrophical claims that they were lovers , the Judge ruled George to be telling the truth,,,, Brandon bankcrupt and now married vied he would continue to prove there was no truth to the story,,, well one only has to look on gooogle images for photos of the two together ( make up your own minds),,Hey back to the film,, Douglas Booth (George) plays a great part despite being only 17, (wow) at times made me look twice at the screen his portrayal ( whilst in full make up) was uncanny, no wonder Boy upon visiting the set was said to be pleased with how the production was going ,, hey wouldn't you want a young established model, lovely boy portraying you??,, Great performances from Matt Horne ( Jon Moss) and Marc Warren ( Steve Strange) But for me the "steal the show" performances in equal measures go to Mark Gatiss ( Malcolm Mclaren) and Freddy Fox ( Marilyn) too many good lines to quote here,, although malcoms " Im being sent a new house,,, but bit by bit" was good,,,,Whether your a fan of " The Boy" or not if u were in your prime in the 80s dressing to excess and having lots of fun this film is for you,,, if not still give it a go as the music, colour,, ambiance and music makes it a ( in Cillas words) A " Lorra Lorra Fun"
Having only recently read 'Take It Like A Man', Boy George's compelling and brilliantly entertaining autobiography, I was excited by the prospect of this. I've never been a Culture Club or Boy George fan, but I love tales of rock 'n' roll excess and I was happy to find the book did exactly this.This film, however, proved to be a bit of an anti-climax. Whilst everything appeared to be accurately depicted and the era authentically portrayed, the problem was that it stopped just as things were getting interesting. The book really came into its own once Boy George and Culture Club found fame but film stops dead at this point, with the exception of a few flash-forwards to 1986 when George was engulfed in controversy and smack addiction. I appreciate what went on before is relevant but what was shown in the film should have been condensed down, allowing the majority of it to focus on what happened thereafter. But I guess that ultimately wasn't the point.I definitely think George's fame, popularity and infamously colourful life warrants a screen adaptation, but merely giving us an insight into what went on beforehand makes me think this was a missed opportunity.On a slightly more positive note, to hear that the lead was only 17 is astounding and he did a terrific job in what must have been a very challenging role.