Customer Reviews

Naked Boys Singing

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I viewed this film today at the Out Takes Dallas Film Festival this evening at the Magnolia Theater. The movie was very entertaining and received a big applause from the audience at the end. The cinematography was well-done and also tastefully done. It was truly an amazing experience to view this film and I recommend it to others who would enjoy a film version of an off-Broadway production with attractive and talented naked young men. I'm hoping an HD-DVD version will be available soon!

I saw this live in NYC about 3-4 years ago. I was so enamored with the music and singing that I very nearly forgot the singers were often stark naked! There was great risk in trying to take an excellent play and putting it on film. However, I'm happy to report that this DVD did not disappoint!

All of the songs are here, and one new song. Many of the songs were slightly reworked, all for the better! Each time, the change seemed to play to the musical strength of the particular performer. Where the cameras could add depth and dimension, it did. However, the DVD version managed to remain true to to the Musical Revue genre of a Stage Show.

As a music freak, I can say that some of the chorus pieces lacked some of the well-balanced, locked sound that I saw in NYC a few years ago. However, I don't think most people will notice. The solos are outstanding and many of the pieces actually have been reworked to have more harmony than before.

Oh yeah, and the naked guys are pretty good, too!

Buy with confidence! It's a good one.

My partner and I saw this show off-Broadway and rolled with EXCITEMENT at all the characters and songs. It's very entertaining to hear a beautiful song by a beautiful actor and then you look down and realize he forgot his pants. Now that is where the extra entertainment comes in. But seriously, it was a great show to see and now that it's coming on DVD we are going to buy it and we recommend it to all. It became a big hit for Bachelorette Parties where all the real girls would go and see it. I knew it would be a hit even though my boyfriend was shy seeing his first nude play. He showed me yesterday and said you were right, "let's order it!" Order today at the low price and soon you'll be sitting back enjoying your own private bare broadway boys.

What can I say? I loved this video. I had heard of the play from someone I know who had seen it. If you are gay or a straight woman, you will love this. The men are great eye candy and they can also sing and dance. I particularly liked Perky Little Porn Star. That guy is young and hot and he could also sing very well. The Naked Maid was also a highlight. Who I'm kidding? I'm gay and you will get what you paid for as the opening number proclaims, if you buy this. I have watched it several times and let me boyfriend watch it. He had the same reaction I had of shock. I wish there would be a sequel. Also, I would love to see this in person, up close and personal. The music is funny and touching in places and those guys did have a lot of nerve to do this. The gay man in me wonders if any of them hooked up afterwards. If you are a straight man, you probably will not like this unless you are curious. The fight the urge number I could really identify with. If you are gay and had locker room situations in your youth, you will as well. Beat your meat number about masturbation is hilarious. Of course if you have a TV that is capable of different views and close-ups, freeze frame on DVD, you will enjoy this all the more.I highly recommend this. This should be in every gay man's video cabinet.

"Naked Boys Singing" was a genuine surprise. I ordered it for the obvious reasons. However, it proves to be a delightful and extremely clever revue. Most of the singing is good, the dancing is excellent, and the performers are all attractive, although obviously not trying to compete with the Hollywood "pretty boy" image. Don't buy this DVD if you're looking for porno. After the first shock of ten good bodies appearing without clothes, the nudity seems somehow rather innocent and natural--not at all suggestive or smutty. In no way do the performers seem to by trying to "turn on" the audience. Granted some of the words are rather suggestive, but not the performers or their actions. I would recommend this DVD for anyone who had a healthy attitude toward nudity and a good sense of humor (actually a couple of the portions are very moving); strangely,if one has an open mind and carefully listens to the words, it is actually easy to almost forget about the nudity! Highly recommended for anyone who isn't afraid to view healthy nudity and has an open mind about gay emotions.

The opening number in the DVD of the long-running stage show "Naked Boys Singing" about says it all. "Gratuitous Nudity" is the bait that lured many a theater goer to drop in on this musical revue, running in Los Angeles or NYC pretty much since its inception in 1998. Having made the cultural leap from gay cult show to a broader audience, the gay musical enthuasiasts who first attended the shows found themselves mixed in with the bachelorette party-types and the curious, granting "Naked Boys Singing" its ongoing success. One of the telling things about the show actually comes from the bonus feature "Nuts and Bolts," where the creator of the show reveals that "Naked Boys Singing" was born of desperation. His theater was about to close due to lack of funds, so he tried to think of the most obvious thing he could to sell tickets. The top two? Musicals and Naked boys.

Which proves a rather sad tenant about a sizable percentage of the gay male populous: put the words "Naked Boys" in front of anything and they'll rush to see/buy it. Not to say this DVD is bird-vomit, far from it. It is clever cabaret, with numbers running clever (the aforementioned "Gratuitous Nudity") cloying ("Perky Little Pornstar") and even heartbreaking ("Kris, Look What You've Missed" - featuring Jaymes Hodges in the show's best number). You're also being treated to 10 men hitting the stage in the Full Monty. Once you get past that initial novelty, you're - again - left to contemplate the 16 songs performed here.

At a certain level, you're screwed. The fact that this is a NAKED! GAY! MUSICAL! is blasted at you from almost every song to the point of redundancy. Puns about parts abound with the big message being that celebrating your body is OK, love is good when you find it, and heck, we're just having a big ol' goofy time up here. After awhile, the gimmick starts wearing thin, and the filmmakers obviously saw this coming. The show, shot part live and parts staged for the cameras, allows for some Busby Berkeley type choreography shot from overhead to give the show some dimension. It is a welcome diversion from the otherwise distractingly old school film effects.

Ultimately, despite its perky cast and eagerness to accommodate, you're still watching the film version of a stage musical...and a musical based on a singular gimmick. The cast is well suited to their roles (pun intended) and the documentary feature shows that they were actually chosen for more than their (ahem) good looks. Still, the songs didn't really stay with me once the credits were rolling, and the notion tickles the back of your brain that Tony Bennett or Pavarotti probably would not have passed the auditions because - voices or not - they would not have fit into the first two thirds of the concept. "Naked Boys Singing" is exactly what you would expect it to be, which is great for those who wouldn't likely get the opportunity to see this live on the coasts. Just don't get yourself excited by thinking it will be anything more, because frankly, this comes off as something where you really had to be there.

A modest (or is that immodest) success as a film exercise, the DVD of "Naked Boys Singing" will give you plenty to look at and opportunity to use the pause and zoom buttons of your remote. And maybe you'll hum "I beat my meat" after the show is over.

I was eager to see the DVD as I had not had the opportunity to see the live stage play. I expected it to swing on its singular "gimmick." It did not, not at all. It touched deep human emotions. It is interesting that one reviewer objects because it celebrates being gay. Having had movies that celebrate being non-gay shoved down my throat all of my life, (to which, I never objected, thinking that is what life is)this intelligent, eye-opening (hell, who wants to blink and miss anything!), funny celebration of being alive, gay OR non-gay was wonderful. If you have ever watched the body-fear of "straight" men in a locker room (oh, god, what if they see my pee-pee), if you are awed by the sexism of men oogling women, or tired of the heterocentrism of our society, see this movie. If you can get through "Chris, look what you missed" without swallowing hard, you cannot see what you missed. This movie wasn't meant for you at all.

In theatre those who can act, sing and dance are caled "triple threats" and often find work when others can not. These "Naked Boys Singing" are "Quadruple Threats" because although we see little of their acting, they can certainly sing, dance and look great doing it!

The voices are all strong (as are the bodies) and the songs are well written and witty, plus a couple that are poignant, and anyone who appreciates musical theatre and the beauty of the male form will certainly enjoy this film. I highly recommend watching the included extra features and learning more about the history of the show, how it was made and all the very talented men who made it possible both on camera and off.

This is one DVD that I will watch over and over and over.

This film does indeed deliver what its' title says. It is an amalgam of men (not the off-putting "boys") singing mostly clever songs in mostly adequate voices. The guys are cute and unself-conscious, but lack a certain genuine connection at many points of the show. Some were misused in certain numbers. Attractive guy+ Good voice doesn't automatically = a good casting fit. I liked this DVD overall, and recommend it ...ultimately.

The first couple of songs almost made me turn off the DVD player. I'm glad I didn't. This musical is one of the best I've seen lately.

My favorites are "Nothin' But the Radio On" (kinda-sorta country) and "Perky Little Porn Star" (Joseph Keane is adorable).

It is baudy like vaudeville. Don't expect XXX. It's just frisky humor, nekkid and music.

High-budget films are less choppy. This isn't Busby Berkeley. It's a simple art-house film. And it's "family."