Cheap Boys Life 2 (DVD) (Nickolas Perry, Peggy Rajski, Tom DeCerchio, Mark Christopher) Price

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Customer Reviews of Boys Life 2

"Must Be the Music" (1996) is Nickolas Perry's take on the lives of four young friends (three gay, one ostensibly straight) who's visit to an LA nightclub reveals an array of barely-suppressed emotions. The tone is raucous and hard-edged, but the film comes to an abrupt ending long before the characters have been fully established or their situations resolved.

Tom DeCerchio's "Nunzio's Second Cousin" (1994) is the ace in the pack, a superb vignette in which a potentially lethal gay-bashing is turned completely around when one of the intended victims turns out to be a gun-wielding cop who seems to recognise something ambiguous about the motives of one of his attackers. By turns hilarious and frightening, the film revels in its contradictions (ie. the warm-hearted gay man with an explosive temper; the sweet old guy who turns out to be an ignorant racist; the handsome young thug who isn't what he seems, etc.) whilst offering viewers a wish-fulfillment assault on small-minded bigots everywhere. Vincent D'Onofrio (the cop), Eileen Brennan (his dotty mom), and the gorgeous Miles Perlich (the thug) topline this small gem of a movie, and they each play their roles to perfection.

Mark Christopher directs the much-praised "Alkali, Iowa" (1995), the tale of a young gay farmer who literally unearths the secrets of his long dead father and immediately upsets the deceptive tranquility of his deeply troubled family. Beautifully photographed, the film generates an authentic sense of landscape and mystery, but the ambitious narrative is defeated by a patently inadequate running time (17 minutes).

Finally, Tom Donaghy's "The Dadshuttle" (1994) records the conversation between a young man and his doting father during a short car journey which culminates in a tragic revelation. Deliberately uncinematic, this is basically an actor's piece, nicely underplayed by Matt McGrath (son)and Peter Maloney (father), but the dialogue is slightly too theatrical at times and the confined staging limits the film's emotional impact.

The first two entries are presented at approximately 1.75:1, while the final two are full-frame. Sound is Dolby Digital mono. Viewers should be aware that the DVD version of "Boys Life 2" (this title doesn't appear anywhere on the print itself) differs from the original theatrical release, which offered Peggy Rajski's Oscar-winning short "Trevor" (1995) instead of "The Dadshuttle". This is possibly due to copyright wrangles over the Diana Ross songs which figure heavily in Rajski's film. Anyway, on this evidence, there's no reason why the "Boys Life" series couldn't become a regular thing on DVD, presenting the best gay-themed short films by new directors on an annual basis. Roll on "Boys Life 3"!

A Varied Quartet, with One Subtle Sleeper
In 3 of these 4 shorts, homophobia lurks. All 4 are artistic, from minimal-realistic to episodic. MUST BE THE MUSIC: It's only four young teen guys going clubbing one night, scrappy and bopping. Business as usual with young males, but these prowlers are all gay--showing we're "different and the same." SECOND COUSIN: the tables turned, a New York cop makes a gay-basher come home for dinner at mother's. The subtlety? Residual internalized homophobia. ALKALI, IA: The film's jolty uneven flashback style well suits its subject, a farm boy discovering his father was gay, and his family is still anti-gay. But the best is THE DADSHUTTLE. Apparently only the conversation between guy and dad in a car drive, actually it's artistic genius, re-creating (not just reporting) son's attempt to communicate, father's non-intended awkwardness. Bravo.

Two great ones; two so-so
Well-done compilation of four short films about growing up gay.

The first one "Must Be the Music" is fun. It's about a group of gay teenage boys going to a disco. The refreshing thing about it is that the characters are gay...and could care less. Also it's very sweet and has a happy ending. Lots of fun.

"Nunzio's Second Cousin" is not so good. It's a very dark film about a very disturbed cop inviting a teenager home after he tried to rob him and his lover. Eileen Brennan overacts as the cop's mother. Dark, depressing. Still, it is interesting.

"Atali, Iowa" was dull dull dull. I'm not going to describe it...just avoid it.

The closing one "Trevor" is just superb. It actually won an Academy Award as best live short subject. It's about a very young kid coming to grips with the fact that he's gay. It's funny, moving and has a very uplifting ending. A real winner.

So, the first and last are the best segments. The second is good but dark. And the third should be avoided. Pretty good batting average I'd say