AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Ploydsge just watch it!

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Jack_Brock Alex Lawther's acting is the best thing about this movie. He breathed life into this movie that easily might have been worse.Kudos to the writers for trying, but this movie suffers from what most teen movies do: one dimensional characters and weak scripts. Almost all of the characters are cardboard cut outs whose actions are predictable - The jock who hates being a jock, the bitchy cheerleader, clueless parents (including Bette Midler's overacted alcoholic mother), the secretly gay bully in love with the protagonist, etc...There were some genuinely funny moments though.

sandowl Please God, may I have a friend like Billy in my life? What a wonderful, sensitive, talented, intelligent, amazing character.

Suradit At the start of the movie Billy Bloom (Alex Lawther) does come across as being a little too fabulous in his behavior and appearance. I can see why that would be off-putting to many people. And possibly that was the point. We judge others based on first impressions which are almost always superficial because we don't have anything more to consider. Billy's parents are separated and each show only a shallow, mostly hands-off interest in their son. Florence, the housekeeper, is passively sympathetic and protective, but unable to be meaningfully supportive. Billy is essentially alone and coping with his confused sense of self by being as provocatively freakish as he can be.When Billy starts at a new school, he deliberately alienates himself from the other students by letting his "freak flag fly" in the most flamboyant way imaginable. He is understandably the target of bullying both trivial and physical.Then, for reasons not easily understood, he attracts the friendship of one of the school's most popular, decidedly straight, male students, Flip Kelly ( Ian Nelson). Flip becomes the catalyst that helps Billy tone down his provocative, defiant and flamboyant behavior because he is possibly the first person in Billy's life who appears to care for the person beneath all the make-up and glitter.Yes, the movie is filled with a supporting cast of stereotypical characters, but stereotypes exist for a reason and the exceptional characters are significant because they stand apart. While Billy is purportedly the stellar example of an exceptional person, the most meaningful, influential and exceptional character was Flip Kelly.Great performance by Alex Lather, but Ian Nelson's acting was "exceptionally" good. Bette Midler lent her name to the cast listing but her appearance in the movie was largely insignificant.

randyleedunbar Outfest closed out this summers festival with a lovely movie called Freak Show, marking the directorial debut of Trudie Styler. Based on the 2007 novel by James St. James, the story follows the teenage years of Billy Bloom, a funny, good-hearted, cross-dressing teen who becomes the new student at an ultra-conservative high school. Although accosted with Bible believing cheerleaders, the jocks, the bullies, Billy takes a stand. Determined to be who he is and not bow to peer pressure, he refuses to change his outlandish outfits or behavior. Instead, he decides to run for Homecoming Queen for outcasts and underdogs everywhere. Within this framework Billys life revolves around these relationships: his mother, father, Flip Kelly, Blah, Blah. Blah (she talks so fast he never quite gets her name) and Florence. But let's talk about Billy. As played by Alex Lawther (last seen in the Imitation Game) this is performance nothing less than Oscar worthy. He is in every scene and he plays Billy with such conviction (starting with the fact he British) that it is often painful to watch. His face is nothing less than a canvas on which to draw whatever emotion is required; in some scenes, he almost seems to become a mime channeling Guiletta Masina (look her up!). It is powerful performance and even as it is about being fabulous ("I normally take being-over dramatic as a compliment") he always has something behind the look that feels real and vulnerable. There is no shortage of teenage films about high school (from Rebel Without a Cause to Twilight) and the cruelty encountered in those years. It is legendary and in Freak Show, there is ample violence, bullying and harassment to make one feel very uncomfortable—and that may be its point. As diercted by Trudie Styler it never crosses that line of being didactic or message-driven, it simply tells the story with grace. With appearances by Bette Midler, Abigail Breslin, Laverne Cox, John McEnroe, Larry Pine and most notably Celia Weston as Florence, Freak Show seems perfect for the moment. A film about standing ground in the face of adversity, being true to one's self at all costs, Freak Show was the perfect way to end a film festival about the diverse and the changing landscape of the LGBT community.