tlagay.co.uk

chromoman wrote on 03/26/2012:

1 star, at best

Big problems: big problems for our protagonist; bigger problems for viewers: there's very little to see here. There seems to have been only the most rudimentary elements of a script here, rambling episodes leading nowhere you need to be. "Situations" are set up, but to little end. Drug use and sex in good measure are mixed in, but not in the use of any discernible story elements. Many "characters" roam idly through this film, but most seem to be there just to fill up time (mostly having drug-fueled sex).
Unlike many indepedent, low-budget films, it seems that some of these actors would have been able to actually act, had they been giving any real material to work with. A sad waste ot time and talent.

bradlevi wrote on 02/06/2012:

The story line week. When I think of houseboy I think of loving caring older men adding a sweet hot man to their family and bedroom. This was just went the wrong direction for my taste.

Amos Lassen wrote on 02/22/2011:

“The Houseboy”
A Gem
Amos Lassen
When I sat down to watch “The Houseboy”, I had no idea of what to expect. All I knew of it I had read on My Space so I was totally and very pleasantly surprised when I found myself beginning to love Spencer Schilly’s little film.
Nick May who is a cute new face on the screen plays Ricky whose job is to take care of the house owned by the couple of studs he has been having sex with. They have gone away for the holidays and Ricky is left to take care of everything. However when Ricky overhears a conversation between the two men that they want a new toy for Christmas, he becomes hurt and somewhat morose. He begins to look for a human connection in every way possible—via the internet, through hookups, through drugs and through anonymous sex. Ricky begins to experience the typical lonely holiday blues. He is unwanted by his family and he fears that his place with the two guys does not have much time left. He begins to consider suicide and is thinking about committing it on Christmas Eve. When Ricky begins to talk of his plan with his tricks, they are startled and quick to leave him.
This is a drama that has so much going for it. The story is unique, the acting is good, the dialog is real and there are a lot of good sex scenes. Nick May has a boyish charm that wins you over from the first moment he is on the screen---which is the first moment of the movie. His struggle with his feelings for the couple he lives with are all over his face and his expressions are wonderful. Ricky’s depression grows deeper when he is left alone to take care of a house that he feels he is about to be throw out of and when he thinks about the fact that he is disassociated from his mother. He begins a moral decline with drug usage and anonymous sex and thoughts of suicide. He seems no reason to continue living—he has no friends, his lovers have gone away and he is lonely.
What really interested me in the movie was the lack of emotional ties between and among the characters especially in the sex scenes which are filmed both darkly and brutally. The characters are what are important in this film. It would seem that a movie that deals with suicide would be a downer and this is where the surprise comes. There is optimism here and the movie does end on a happy note.

Gaelan wrote on 03/19/2010:

Quiet, meditative film about very little. Cute actors. Bad, bad daddies. Would have been more fun if he had to foil some burglars. Really did not register the 'excessive drug use' others noted... seemed pretty normal for a depressed boy alone in the big city on the holidays. If you are in a zen mood, go for it.

If you are not in a zen mood, at the end you will wonder 'ummm...what was the point exactly - and could it have been accomplished in a 20 minute short?'.

RES wrote on 12/11/2009:

I am a bit surprised that the few opinions I have read here are either negative or cool. This is a lovely little independent film. That it has "depressing" points (as one reviewer mentioned) is hardly a reason to rate it poorly: a thoughtful film is seldom a laugh fest. In addition, it does not use sex as titillation, if that's what viewers were expecting or hoping. Sexual episodes are used as plot points folded into the narrative with purpose, and quite expressively; though, given the protagonist's looks and sweetness, they could hardly be other than delicious. It's difficult to understand the objection to the depiction of drug use. It is certainly no endorsement as it is clearly used as a means of darkening the mood. Nick May's performance is very genuine and quite touching. The film flows and holds together well, except for a few moments (e.g., I could have lived without the Santa Claus episode). Closed-captions wouldn't have hurt, though the dialog was usually relatively easy to understand for something recorded in this "natural" way. The transfer is very grainy however, with a lot of digital artifacts. Nevertheless, this film can be recommended with scant reservations.