The Conrad Boys

This little movie is not guaranteed to raise your blood pressure much. But the more you watch it and get to know it the more endearing it becomes for its treatment of family issues and coming of age themes in which being gay is calmly taken and accepted as a given but--and this is a good thing--is not the main point and is simply accepted by the protagonist. He has a lot of things to deal with, but who he is happily isn't one of them.

Highly recommended to watch the DVD with Justin Lo's commentary. He gives a good picture of how a no-budget production can be made in a professional manner and why the result looks and sounds pretty darn good. Sure, this is not a very intense or charismatic main character, but I don't agree with some who've said that Justin Lo--who with remarkable self-possession and apparent calm produced, wrote, edited, directed, and starred--should have picked somebody other than himself to play Charlie. Okay, Lo isn't a great actor, like River Phoenix, who maybe (but this is highly theoretical) could have made this character heartrending and unforgettable (I guess I'm thinking a little of Running on Empty), but he's still well cast as Charlie, in whom he seems to have written a good deal of himself, and thus thoroughly believable. At the same time the commentary makes it clear that Justin is not Charlie: the movie is not autobiographical, even though both Lo and his protagonist are half Chinese and half European and gay. In real life Lo was not 19--but he looks young enough for the part. His looks kept reminding me of Joseph Gordon-Leavitt--which is an irrelevant association but a positive one, since Gordon-Leavitt is such a fine actor.

Now, somebody asks why Jordan, the dashing stranger who comes into his life, would even be attracted to Charlie? Well, that's obvious: because Charlie's cute (and obviously gay, in a good way) and sweet--an innocent angel who's all the things Jordan, who's been around the block too many times, is not--and more sensible too--somebody to show the world to, a virgin bride if you will, who will provide the stability in the relationship that he lacks: that's why Jordan's wanting to take Charlie on the road with him makes sense.

It is true that this qualifies to be a Movie of the Week, and not much more. As sincere and true as it is, it's not very ambitious. That's the paradox. Lo deals with some pretty heavy subject matter, loss of parents, alcoholism and recovery, a diminishing future for the main character, (apparently or for all we know) first sexual experience, a stranger who brings danger and illegality into one's life, but the writing, though sincere and authentic, isn't lively enough--compare S.E. Hinton, for instance--to make the milieu come to life. (It's also a limiting factor that Charlie, the main character, is very shy and uptight and has almost zero social life). Compare the world of Hinton's The Outsiders as realized on-screen by Coppola.

But that's not what Lo is trying to do--nor something he could have done: he didn't have access to a dozen Brat Pack dreamboats. The heart and soul of the picture is the exciting stranger, Jordan (quite well brought to life by Nick Bartzen). To continue the S.E. Hinton comparison, it's more a Rumble Fish kind of situation. Charlie winds up stuck with raising his younger brother Ben (the soulful and adorable Boo Boo Stewart) alone for a while. His father Doug (Barry Shay) was an alcoholic and split. Their mother dies suddenly. Charlies defers his acceptance at Columbia and stays in town working in a restaurant. Soon, Doug reappears, two years sober, with a decent job and place to live, wanting to help out. Geeky Charlie has to deal with a lot of disreputability, and also with Ben's gradual estrangement, nightmares, and acting out at school. Then along comes Jordan, and disreputability starts to take on a strong appeal. Lo's screenplay sets up a world in which there are strong moral imperatives in the protagonist's mind, but in the end nothing is as clearcut as he thought. It's simple but it's never schematic; it works.

In the commentary Lo shows how he used his family and friends, all of whom, plus the crew, he fully acknowledges, showing himself to be very much a team player at ease with his role. He uses the same park space four times for different scenes, and even successfully transforms his sister's childhood bedroom into a vice principal's office. Lo worked with available locales and people, other than the lead actors (who are all fine). Charlie's best friend Tori is even played by Lo's actual best friend Nancy Hancock. Lo comments repeatedly on the fact that he had a good cinematographer, and indeed the lighting is excellent throughout, so, as he says, this looks like a movie that cost much more to make.

That ought to be encouraging to anyone who wants to make a first film and doesn't have extensive means. In his commentary Lo says Brokeback Mountain is one of the best films of the past ten years, and declares that Paul Thomas Anderson is a genius. Can't quarrel with that! Think globally, act locally: that was the right way to work. Good luck with future film-making, Justin.

This film is about a 19 years old man having to take care of his young brother after the death of his mother. He could not enjoy any social life until he meets a hot guy called Jordan.

I am very impressed by this movie. First of all, the relatively big budget surprised me. It was shot on proper film, and not on hand-held cameras. The sets are nice and well touched up. The lighting is excellent, and the cinematography is pleasant. Every scene is bright and sunny, with great colour contrast. The quality of the production is much better than most of the gay films I have seen. I wonder how the first time filmmaker financed all this, and managed to make such a good production.

Charlie's is character that is written well, I totally sympathised with him. However, I agree that the acting by Justin Lo is a little Wooden. By contrast, Jordan is a lively character with ultra good looks. Nick Bartzen's acting is good, I hope he will become big one day. I also liked the subplot of Mr Conrad coming back. Justin Lo must have faced a lot of personal demons when he made this film. I salute him for that.

I think this film is an excellent attempt, especially for a first time film maker. I enjoyed the film a lot.

CONRAD BOYS is not a bad movie: the story though frequently used by others holds its own, the style of direction keeps the pace moving, the message of the movie is worth stating. The problem is one of a single person assuming the role of writer, director, film editor AND principal actor. Justin Lo does well in all categories except the last one. As pleasant as he is to look at his ability to create a believable character on film is seriously lacking.

Charlie (Lo) is a 19-year old taking care of his little brother Ben (Boo Boo Stewart) after the sudden death of their mother. Charlie is a history buff headed for Columbia for college until his mother's death halts that direction. He becomes a recluse despite his friend Tori (Nancy Hancock) attempts to get him out of his café job and into a social life. But at last Charlie reluctantly attends a party and eventually encounters a very handsome, intelligent drifter Jordan (Nick Bartzen) who touches Charlie's buried attraction and the two become friends and more. Jordan has demons, some of which become painfully apparent form his life of crime's encounters from the past. Another stumbling block for Charlie's adjustment appears in the form of his long departed recovering alcoholic father Doug (Barry Shay) who has cleaned up his act and wants to be a part of Ben's and Charlie's lives. The myriad clashes to Charlie's fragile ego serve only to bring out his protective forces in caring for Ben and eventually his nascent longing for Jordan and his responsibility for Ben are settled in surprising ways.

The cast Lo has selected is fine - especially the promising young Nick Bartzen and the solid Barry Shay. If only Lo had had the foresight to cast Charlie with an equally fine actor the film would have played more strongly. But as a first film by a young talent there is reason to view this venture. Justin Lo gives evidence of being a solid talent who just needs some focus.

The boys are cute, so I guess that's one reason I want to like this film, but I just can't. The acting is less than spirited and at times I didn't want to even watch the entire film. The writing is sub par but had great plot line potential, I believe. So much more emotion and connection to the characters is possible, but it just wasn't there. I felt disconnected from the entire cast and I felt no sense of love between the brothers or the two "lovers." In fact, all the relationships in the entire movie seemed fake and inconsequential. I will always support the LGBT community, writers and actors and if Justin Lo comes out with something else, I'll be sure to try again. But as far as this title goes, save your time and money. Sorry Justin and Boo Boo.

i totally agree with the reviewer's comments and the point was made regarding jason lo trying to wear too many hats in the making of this film. he did a decent job as director, writer, editor, etc... but his acting skills are absolutely not where they need to be. His film could have been much more powerful had he casted an actor other than himself in the lead. really a glaring mistake that almost ruins the film and thus relegates it to more of a straight-to-video offering. not deserving of the big silver screen. a shame really. i do hope in future efforts he hears this criticism and learns to cast a film properly. i believe he has some talent.