After seeing the Boy Who Cried Bitch, you might be left wondering what happened in 1991 that they couldn't release this film. This movie is one of the few effortlessly fused Theater Release with TV Movie of the Week that perhaps it lost it's footing in both venues. A shame that more people didn't get the chance to see what is surely a great performance by a young Harley Cross. This is before "Shriek If you know what I did Last Friday the 13th" but shortly after Believers.
Harley was a young actor to watch with notable films "Cohen and Tate" peeking with "Perdita Durango" and an otherwise downward slide to obscurity since. He certainly shines in this role as a confused and psychotic adolescent on the brink of madness struggling to find a place in the outside that compliments his inner demons. Rarely have we seen a young actor display such range and for this reason alone, this movie should have shucked the title and some of the cursing for something a bit more palatable to the mainstream public.
BWCB was unique in that it explored some of the complexities of child abuse, manic depression and a mother's ultimate failure to connect with her child in a way that is not cliché. For example a good scene early on has Dan (Cross) being seduced by a groundskeeper who obviously tries to fill a father's role and lure the boy into a man-boy relationship. Dan turns the power position around and immediately uses the man for beer and food for his brothers and friends. This film takes an honest look at young teens, not shying away from the way they talk and the amount of insight they have with their adult relationships.
I recommend this film for those looking for a good hearted, insightful, sometimes dark and emotional journey through a troubled teen's life.
6/10 Maddis
Harley was a young actor to watch with notable films "Cohen and Tate" peeking with "Perdita Durango" and an otherwise downward slide to obscurity since. He certainly shines in this role as a confused and psychotic adolescent on the brink of madness struggling to find a place in the outside that compliments his inner demons. Rarely have we seen a young actor display such range and for this reason alone, this movie should have shucked the title and some of the cursing for something a bit more palatable to the mainstream public.
BWCB was unique in that it explored some of the complexities of child abuse, manic depression and a mother's ultimate failure to connect with her child in a way that is not cliché. For example a good scene early on has Dan (Cross) being seduced by a groundskeeper who obviously tries to fill a father's role and lure the boy into a man-boy relationship. Dan turns the power position around and immediately uses the man for beer and food for his brothers and friends. This film takes an honest look at young teens, not shying away from the way they talk and the amount of insight they have with their adult relationships.
I recommend this film for those looking for a good hearted, insightful, sometimes dark and emotional journey through a troubled teen's life.
6/10 Maddis