Worried About the Boy (2010)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Boy George can certainly be described as an 80's icon. I distinctly remember as a youngster first seeing his band Culture Club perform 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' on some kids TV show some time in the early 80's and then seeing him interviewed immediately afterwards and being utterly amazed he was not a she. I seem to recall fellow school-mates being somewhat flabbergasted about this the following day too. These were less enlightened times as far as homosexuality was concerned, so I guess Boy George was even more of a cultural happening taking that into account. Despite his image, part of the reason Culture Club became so massively popular was that George himself was never promoted as threatening sexually, while the band's music was very contemporary new wave pop with little edge. But like most things that connect so fully with mainstream culture, the fame and success only lasted a fairly short while.This TV biopic is unusual in that it hardly focuses on the Culture Club years at all. Instead, it covers George's pre-fame and post-peak tabloid celebrity years. In doing this, it sort of misses out the most dramatic section of the story and looks at what led George there and how it affected him negatively afterwards. This approach means that you have to accept what the film is not, although it definitely makes the story more small-scale and lower key. The early years are typified by the fashion scene that revolved around the Blitz Club which was populated by the New Romantics; while the later scenes happen in the midst of George being hounded by the press over his reported heroin addiction. The film flashes forward and back to these two periods to tell the story. And in some respects it's quite a limited story in all honesty. The early years were typified, after all, by George not really doing a lot and gaining minor celebrity for merely wearing the right clothes. One of the more notable events happens when he briefly hooks up with Malcolm McLaren – very well played by Mark Gatiss – and is photographed with his then pop pets Bow Wow Wow but little came of this, so it's just a colourful detail.Mainly the film works as a time capsule movie, where we are transported back to the early 80's. Several characters from the New Romantic scene appear, such as Steve Strange, Marilyn and Kirk Brandon; the latter of which had a sexual affair with the singer. The costuming and soundtrack have been chosen well and despite the low budget, it's convincingly of its time. The main acting duties are covered by newcomer Douglas Booth, who is decidedly more androgynous than the real Boy George. He puts in a pretty good performance, especially when you consider he was only 17 years old at the time. On the whole, this is a film that should appeal to those who like biopics about popular music figures. It might not be the most dramatic story but it is well told for what it is.

it is a really good film for the science to not be only illustration of a period and image of a star. it is interesting, captivating, seductive. because it presents spirit of a time not only portrait of an artist. but key of this smart construction is the extraordinary art of Douglas Booth to sustain a heavy and complex character. he is the key. and the star in this story about ambition, identity and basic foundation of success. it is a sensitive/delicate work. and this fact is essential in the competition against many other biographic movies. it is not a film for fans and not at all introduction in 1980 years. it is, in fact, a demonstration of courage and inspiration. and admirable circle from different small pieces who can be parts of testimony about an unique form of liberty.

The above quote from George about what the result is 'when straight men write about poofs'... true! It is camped up to the nines which was a bit unnecessary I thought. Douglas Booth is very pretty - great lips - and I thought he did well for a 17 year old & with a questionable script. The Marilyn portrayal was a bit dodgy, nowhere near similar in looks & far too nicey nicey but the Malcolm McClaren was very believable. Soundtrack great - make-up great. I definitely think they should have gone the whole hog & made the programme longer - the ending was just an odd place to stop, covering nothing of Culture Club's reign... a vision of a smacked up George circa '86 with little insight as to why; the antics on their world tours were worthy of inclusion if you ask me. Great just to stick on for a bit of background telly but do read 'Take it like a Man' if you haven't already.

Douglas Booth made an utterly stunning and very watchable Boy George, capturing his sharp witted and ultimately rather romantic character without ever resorting to campness or cliché. I enjoyed this drama for the gorgeous recreation of what must have been a fascinating time in London's cultural history and the fabulous design of the costumes and sets. But even though the dialogue at times sparkled (special mention here for Freddie Fox playing a magnificent Marilyn) it was rather a case of style over substance. The story just felt very thin and although there were some surprisingly touching moments (with Kirk as well as John Moss) there just didn't seem enough story here to sustain an hour and a half. I felt the addict section of the story really limped along and felt underdeveloped and unnecessary in particular. However they did a good job of making the characters engaging and likable and for that reason it was worth the hour and a half spent with them. I just would have liked to have seen a bit more of events, and also a bit more about George's motivations - what made him who he was.