Customer Reviews

Boys Next Door [VHS]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having worked in education with clients just like "the boys", I must say that these actors do a WONDERFUL job portraying their characters. At times we laughed so hard we cried; and other times, we just cried. I hope the film fosters a better understanding of mentally & emotionally challenged adults. They are human beings with feeling and emotions just like those of us who are not challenged in that area. This film does a wonderful job of expressing those feelings. This is one movie you won't regret watching.

This is a made-for-television, Hallmark Hall of Fame film that is small in scale but big in heart. A true ensemble piece, every actor turns in a first-rate performance: Nathan Lane (The Bird Cage, Mouse Hunt), Michael Jeter, Robert Sean Leonard (Much Ado About Nothing), and Courtney B. Vance as mentally-challenged men living in a group home together; with Tony Goldwyn (Joshua, Tarzan, Last Tattoo) as the social worker who holds it all together. Also featured is Mare Winningham as Nathan's character's girlfriend. Funny, touching and unforgettable, it gives you insight into the lives of people whose challenges may be more obvious than our own; but who, nonetheless, possess the same desires and goals - to be whole, to fit in, to be loved.

This is one of Goldwyn's best performances to date, because he shows tenderness as well as strength, making him vulnerable, making him real. As the social worker Jack, he is torn between his love for his guys in the home, and his need to make a decent living and take care of his wife. The extra features give you a look into the thinking of each actor behind his performance, as well as the director's take on the piece, which is based on the play by Tom Griffin. This is a great movie to snuggle up with someone you love and watch with a big bowl of popcorn. Expect to laugh and cry.

Waitsel Smith

This movie was incredibly accurate. Not only in relation to the limits of Holywood distortions, but it was true to the experiences, values, and attitudes of those involved. It captured the current crisis in Direct Support Services so well. It gave a face to the sad truth of what our nation values and does not value; and our nation clearly does not value its disabled brothers and sisters. The only problem is that hardly anyone will ever see this film, I wish it was on PBS or CBS, etc.

A viewer unfamiliar with the original stage production won't realize how much was lost in transitioning this story to the (small) screen, but playgoers will be intensely disappointed with the script revisions to Tom Griffin's original story, which equally emphasized the joys as well as the sorrows of these four men. This film version is a surprisingly humorless tale, made unnecessarily darker by the screenwriters' need to snow-shovel "substance" and "meaning" into every scene. In the play, for example, the visit by next door neighbor, Mrs. Warren, is played strictly for laughs, but in the film the humor of the situation is de-emphasized in favor of stressing, as it does ad nausium, both the barriers "the boys" face and the mounting pressures placed on their caregiver, Jack.

In fact, all we see in this telling are barriers: Arnold's inability to keep from being exploited, Barry's inability to keep from being abused by his father, Norman's and Sheila's inability to express affection for each other, Lucian's inability to express himself at all. It's telling that the only positive outcome in the film is that Jack's marriage is repaired in the last reel which, in typical Hollywood "happy ending" style, was grafted onto the story. In the original, Jack was divorced at curtain's rise and his not-so-subtle bitterness at this was an added facet to his increasing burn-out, not a full-blown sub-plot.

That the producers of the film chose to focus more on Jack's marriage than on "The Boys" betrays the discomfort they had with the humorous aspects of the material. This impression is amplified by the way Barry is portrayed. There's a far greater emphasis on Barry in the film, and the film Barry is a far more menacing character than the stage version. It's not enough to have Barry's dad drag him out to a driving range to traumatize him (a sequence far longer than in the stage version), but we have yet another Barry-centered "crisis" near the end of the film as well.

The producers unceasingly emphasis the darker aspects of the story, and both the characters and the story itself suffer as a result. In the stage production, Arnold's run-in with the corner grocer comes and is dealt with in the first part of the first act. The point that he is exploited, as many mentally disabled are, is made through Arnold's soliloquizing his troubles with a bully named Melvin. What is completely lost in the film is that Arnold is completely oblivious to the fact that he is being exploited (a point that perhaps network executives might not want made on commercial television).

To their credit, the screenwriters did try to replicate the two most effective stage effects of the original productions, the "dance scene" and Lucian's speech. Irritatingly, they undercut the meaning of both sequences with the cheap cinematic effect of showing us Jack's face in close-up before both of them, so we get the message, "this is how Jack sees them," rather than "this is how they really are!" Given that the screenwriters were more interested in showing "the boys" as problems rather than people, it's not surprising that they were allowed to shine only in Jack's eyes, not in theirs, or ours.

That's not to say there aren't any redeeming qualities to the film production. The relationship between Arnold and Mrs. Fremus, which begs the question, "which of these two people is saner?" is a nice addition. But here, again, what's emphasized is the negative aspect of the relationship (Arnold is again exploited, this time for the cost of a magazine subscription). Always, it's the negative aspects of their lives that we're forced to see, again and again.

Most heartbreaking was the portrayals of Norman and Sheila. Both Nathan Lane and Mare Winningham are both truly gifted actors, but to say I was disappointed by their interpretations would be a gross understatement. Mr. Lane chooses to play Norman as a caricature, offering us little more than a Lou Costello impersonation. And Ms. Winningham plays Sheila as sullen and aloof, in complete contradiction to the lines she was given. The most joyful and uplifting scene in the entire show, the scene where Norman gives Sheila her keys (can the analogy be any less obvious?!?) is played in the film as yet another excuse to show how incomplete and imperfect their lives are. In the play, we see how much Norman and Sheila make each other happy. Their love for each other sustains them as does any other two people deeply in love. But in the film, all we see is what they're not.

And that's the chief difference between the stage and film versions of "The Boys Next Door." In the play, we see the problems, yes, and the limitations, but we're also allowed to laugh with them and share their joys. In the film version, all we get are the sorrows. In the stage production, we get to spend two hours with people we get to know and love and will truly miss when it's time to go. In the film version, we're told a sad story about sad people who we end up feeling sorry for.

I felt sorry for film Norman, but I fell in love with stage Norman. The film is okay for what it is, but you'll only get the chance to really fall in love with "The Boys Next Door" if you experience it on the stage. For it's there, and only there, that they truly do shine.

This movie shows the versatility of Nathan Lane as an actor. He is tremendous in this role; both funny and touching. Michael Jetter is also wonderful. In fact, all of the actors did a great job providing insight into the life of some remarkable people. Worth purchasing for the storyline-a must see if you are a Nathan Lane fan, as I am.

Wonderful cast that tells the beautiful story of 4 men living with developmental disabilities or mental illness in a small group home. Scenes vary from making me laugh hysterically to crying.

My family loves this film. We have been searching to purchase this video. It is hilarious. We laughed all the way through it. We love how it brings out that each individual is unique,has special talents and also hang ups. Everybody has a passion in life. Friends love and help each other. Don't be afraid of those who are different. Love and appreciate those with special challenges. We all face challenges in our life and want others to be understanding, friendly and helpful. Everyone wants to be loved and appreciated.

Perfectly cast and well-acted. This a very touching movie without being sappy.

I watched this movie as a child. i loved it back then, and I love it now. It is a Humorous movie. I would definitely recommend.

This is a wonderful film. I used it in one of my classes for teaching awareness of special needs and my students really liked it. The film humorously and sensitively portrays the struggles that four men face, and the difficult decision their caretaker has to make. I recommend it for its character development and the portrayal of the conflicts each character faces. It's realistic and touching.