Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

drcloke 3 men (2 boys and a grownup) with pain they cannot speak about are pitched against each other - denying what is inside them and trying to change the other. They hurt each other in the process and in the hurt and the feeling of the pain, is their personal redemption. The actor who plays the father is superb in the way he is trying to cope with his own loss and at the same time tries to deal and help a son who is "strange" learning in the end that what is really needed is to openly express his own feelings, help his son vocalize his feelings and pain and to hold onto each other ( as distinct from holding onto the dead mother/wife) and not let go. In the end, it did not matter whether either or both the boys were gay or not - you just cared about them

NJMoon Upon seeing the short film FISHBELLY WHITE (part of BOYS LIFE 5) I thought that Michael Burke's story of an off-beat rural farm boy and his pet chicken was both charming and shocking. I even thought it would be fascinating to see a feature length film of the story. I was wrong. Whatever the lyrical magic was that made FISHBELLY WHITE so fascinating seems to have disappeared in THE MUDGE BOY. The main problem is the film's determination to change the character of Perry from a mysteriously handsome romantic hero to a brutish homophobe. In FISHBELLY, Perry is Duncan's (and the viewer's) Heathcliff - a hunky farmhand who befriends our hero. The scene under the train bridge is breathtakingly romantic. MUDGE tries to re-create the scene, but the tone is quite different, with a defensive Perry ruining the mood entirely. Emile Hirsch turns in a fine performance as the sensitive Duncan. Richard Jenkins (of "Six Feet Under" fame) is fine as the grieving dad but Tom Guiry seems all wrong as the bitter Perry. While there is much to recommend THE MUDGE BOY, it's predecessor is a country mile ahead of MUDGE, proving less is sometimes 'mudge' more.

shneur It's always difficult to watch a film where we know more about the protagonist than he (or she) knows about himself. That's the case here: it's obvious to us viewers from fairly early on that Duncan Mudge has some significant homoerotic attractions. When he would turn out to be "gay" or not when his adolescence is over we don't know, and it's really irrelevant (except that he seems a little on the old side for still being in that sexually indeterminate stage). What we are asked to deal with is a sensitive young man in a particularly insensitive corner of a culture that is becoming more and more callous to the inner lives of young people by the day. We're not told exactly when the action takes place, but we have to assume it's pre-Internet; otherwise we'd fault the character for not reaching out that way. In any case, Emile Hirsch does a fine job with a difficult role, and leaves us wounded on his behalf, but not without hope that the whole experience will in the long run have made him, and perhaps us as well, a better human being.

Anthony Gonzales The start of the movie you meet Duncan who is a very strange boy. He sticks Chickens heads in his mouth to calm them down, and it looks very strange. Duncan is someone you would think does not have many friends, and as the movie develops you realize that he doesn't. He is "friends" with a boy who is about 5 years older than he is. Ducan is strange very strange, and Perry understands that and tries to bring Duncan from the "edge". The movie culminates with Perry,who is very confused,raping Duncan, and Duncan's father walking in after Perry finishes. A couple of days after the incident Duncan goes to meet Perry late at night to talk. The watcher does not know if he wants to talk about what happened or if Duncan is truly attracted to Perry. The climb into a beat up old truck where after Perry naturally tells Duncan that they cannot be friends anymore, because what they did was Queer, and he ain't no queer. Duncan says that he hasn't told anyone, why couldn't they be friends. Perry tells him that it is queer, and then kisses him, screaming is that what you want? Duncan says no, and then kisses him a lot more tenderly than Perry did to him, and Perry lets it go, but then pushes him off him, and leaves. The next day, Duncan is at the local shop buying a soda, and he walks outside to find "chicken" which is his pet rooster. He finds out that Perry and his friends have taken it. They start to play keep away and Perry grabs it and acts like he is going to break the neck,but he gives it back to Duncan and tells him to go, show them how is mom, who is dead, taught him how to suck dick. So he "calms" the chicken, but instead of letting him out of his mouth bites his head off. Then the movie cuts to Duncan walking home and his father seeing the chicken and knowing that something is wrong. He grabs Duncan as he is crying and just hugs him and won't let go.This movie was really good, but the story that developed was over too quickly. It leaves the viewer feeling like nothing was resolved. Duncan is still weird, and friendless, and Perry who raped him never got anything that he possibly deserved. It just kinda ended. This was the only downside of the movie. I would watch it again, definitely.