Customer Reviews

Boys to Men

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This an interesting assortment of films that manages generally to be diverse, entertaining and generally thought provoking.

The first film is the charming "Crush". The film starts with a preteen girl looking at a picture of hunky, teenage star and then cuts to a slightly older young man looking at the same picture. The film goes on to follow the eventual friendship of the young man and girl (who of course develops a crush for him). The actors in the film all seem very natural and most of the fun is watching them interact with each other as well as how they're going to work out their differences. A very satisfying and enjoyable effort about a potentially painful subject.

The next film "The Mountain King" is also fun to watch but less satisfying dramatically. It begins with a man reading alone on a beach and another man who comes asks for a light then strips and runs into the ocean inviting the other man to come on in. The film follows these two men as they talk about their lives and eventually couple in a fairly graphic sequence. The film has a strong narrative pull and is always interesting but the resolution is not very satsifying (still this film is as good as anything in Boys Life 3).

"...Lost" is just a shade away from being porn. It is extremely brief (just a few minutes) and then ends with a smack and punch line. There is a tone of seriousness at the end that seems to be meant to justify pushing the sex on the viewer but really the film is just about the act itself. The worst film of the lot.

The final film, "The Confession" maybe the best. It deals with subjects that are typically not dealt with in these short film collections. It is about an older gay couple--one of whom is dying of an unspecified disease (although we are told early on it is not aids) and wants to confess his sins to a priest for absolution. His need causes a rift in the thirty plus year relationship. This brief film manages to tackle mortality and gay suspicion of the church all within its brief running time and to do it with poignancy, humanity and humor. There is a lot here and yet the film does not feel (as many ambitious shorts do) as if it is too stuffed with material for its running time. It manages to resolve itself gracefully and it ends this collection on a high note that leaves the viewer with much to ponder.

An enjoyable generally worthwhile collection of films that will please any fan of the genre. It's the best collection I've seen since the first Boys Life.

... I agree that both CRUSH and CONFESSION are wonderful films. However, THE MOUNTAIN KING, ..., is their equal in every respect. It's the slyest, sexiest, most suggestive and sophisticated film in the collection. I enjoyed it, and related to it, thoroughly. This is not to detract from CRUSH or CONFESSION, each of which sparkle in their own ways. These three films together make BOYS TO MEN the strongest collection of gay shorts I've ever seen.

All of the shorts are good however the short called "Crush" was outstanding. This is a must for the video collection. I must say that this is an adult film because of the sexual content and the full frontal nudes in some of the other shorts. Crush was "PG" however most of the others are "R" or NC17. Put this gem in your collection. ( Not for conservitive viewers)

Although all of the short films included in this anthology have merit, Phillip Bartell's "Crush" stands out as a witty, charming coming of age film with enough laughs and insight for a film three times its length. Bartell's deft handling of young actors is reminiscent of early Truffaut, and he evokes both the insecurities and the joys of a first crush with style and humor. Maida Sussman's evocative cinematography sets just the right tone (at times there's a nice undercurrent of unease to the sunny comedy that gives it nuance and visual complexity), and the movie is touching without being overly sentimental and funny without being overly broad. Like Scorsese's "Life Lessons" or Godard's "All the Boys Are Named Patrick," this is a short that's every bit as satisfying as a great feature.

The problem with this kind of collection is that very often they are not coherent and the quality of each part varies a lot.
This time we get only 4 short films and 3 of them are good. These are: "Crush" (first and the best, telling a story about a young gay boy), "The mountain king" (the second one where the main character is a man in his 20's) and the last one "Confession" (a couple of elder gays).
The third one is a real flop.
So, in general we receive here 3 stories from different age groups (from boys to men). Every character deals with problems typical for his age, fortunately without unnecessary drama.
A pleasently watchable set.

i don't know what better way to say but i feel a bit disappointed when i know that this dvd doesn't come with any english subtitles (that i have a deaf friend who really wants to know what the story is about).....

The cover itself is turn-on enough. In this movie you will find four shorts. The first was cute because of the closet case main character. The second film actually caught my attention the most. You have this straight guy who meets a hustler and fireworks explode from these two. But you don't see too much action until the third short. Nothing but sex in this one, even though you can't see the penetration shots. And the last short was funny because of the two elderly people and how religion can effect the end of someones life. All in all, i was entertained and aroused quite well.

excellent film. from CRUSH, with brett chuckerman and weston mueller. to all the films especially paul dawson(shortbus) early film. you can't beat the 1st three films. the 4th is a sad , but when dealing with aging it hard to write a good film.

just lokk around any movie title