Honey Boy

I for one, am fascinated by Shia LaBeouf. I'm sure I'm not the only one. He is a polarizing figure in Hollywood and I was amazed that this guy marathoned all of his films in the cinema. I think he is a wonderful actor as well, see The Peanut Butter Falcon and American Honey for proof. When I heard he was writing a memoir of sorts about the tumultuous relationship with his father, I was definitely going to go see it. This film was pretty much what I expected it to be.

A semi-biographical picture about the life of Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy follows a young rising child actor and his bipolar relationship with his father. His father is a former rodeo clown and is a deadbeat, for a lack of a better word. The relationship is marred with verbal and physical abuse. The child actor grows up with post traumatic stress disorder because of his upbringing and must learn to come up with ways to cope with his past that effects him. The film stars Lucas Hedges and Shia LaBeouf in the father role.

The story feels authentic because it is. I think the child actor involved and Shia were very good and you just can't help but feel the toxicity involved in their relationship. Its something that pains the young kid much later into his life, which unfortunately in a common curse in a bad upbringing. I still feel like there were parts of the film that were left unrealized but for what we get its a worthy time watching this film about a relationship that has some ups but mostly a lot of downs.

You can feel that the film is a personal one which is why its just an entertaining watch. I'm here trying to look for parallels between the child actors works depicted and a corresponding work that Shia LaBeouf did, to see the similarities between the film and real life. Overall, this will be a painful watch for some and invigorating for others. I enjoyed it for what it was and want to see Shia do more writing for film.

7/10

Always figured Shia Lebeouf was a decent actor, but nothing special. I was wrong. It's one of the best performances I've seen in years, and not just from Shia, it's shocking how good the entire cast is. See it.

He deserves an Oscar for writing it let alone for the acting. He truly is the most underrated actor out there now and the best of my generation. Noah Jupe is a tour de force. Lucas Hedges nails his portrayal of Shia LaBeouf.

D

The performances are really raw and honest and they really go there. The movie had my attention the entire time and the cinematography and direction is wonderful too. I hadn't been a LaBeouf fan because I as an actor myself.. I am always disappointed because I work so hard and it's hard to get a paying acting job when other actors seem to get arrested and drink and do drugs and are constantly getting hired. However, his performance in Peanut Butter Falcon gave me a new window into his ability as an actor and this movie gave me newfound respect for him and hearing him speak of the film and the process really resonated with me as an actor. I never had a parent pushing me to do it and always felt alone in the business but the character of Otis has a father pushing him and he is as alone and broken as ever. If you want to see a film where the actors really listen to each other and take risks- this is it! Oh an Lucas was great too.

It's a strange movie in a sense that Shia Lebeauf who wrote and starred in this picture is kinda saying thank you to his father for making him the man he is today, but the portrayal of his father is not the most favorable. Movies do not get realer than this one. It holds nothing back and tells no lies it's just emotionally honest. I'll give it that. Shia's betrayal of that overbearing father was great and the movie overall is an excellent watch.