The Conrad Boys

I just watched this film, although the film is somewhat predictable, it was I thought well thought out and well done, It told the story it needed to tell, the acting was good the cinematography was also OK, regardless of the quality of this film I believe.

The story line came though and made it to the suffice, even though it's a fairy tale of sorts, I remember living the tale myself in my own personal life, although my story line would have been slightly different in reality but basically the same in some regards, I think most young gay males have experienced this feeling in one fashion or another, in the end where they split up and go their separate ways was sad, but I think that's true to life as well, at least is was for me.

If I had to rate this film and give a score of 1 to 10, I would give it an 8, but then again I am a sucker for romance and true love which I think this film had, believable acting, could it have been done better sure but I think he did a great job over all, well done

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.

Poorly acted, directed and written, "The Conrad Boys" is barely watchable. The main problem is Justin Lo, who assumes the role of writer, director, film editor and principal actor. Lo does not handle any one of his jobs well; his ability to create a believable character on film is seriously lacking. Watching Lo is akin to watching a beginning actor with no idea of what he is doing or saying. The script is quite clichéd and lacks any real imagination. The two stars I awarded this are solely for Nick Bartzen who is quite good as the young drifter, Jordan Rivers.

This film is to be avoided.

A delightful coming of age LGBT film by Justin Lo. It's about Charlie Conrad a 19-year-old who takes care of his bright 9-year-old brother Ben Conrad after their mother's death. Everything changes after he meets Jordan Rivers they begin a personal close relationship. Just when their relationship starts to build up. However, when Charlie's father Doug Conrad shows up he wants to take care of Ben and everything heats up.

The Conrad Boys a magnificent well written movie. Good acting by Justin Lo, Booboo Stewart, Nick Bartzen, and the entire cast.

I've seen many gay films and TV shows, but The Conrad Boys is by far the best I've seen the characters, the story, the picture, and all brought the film to a delightful point of view. Justin Lo is amazing writer and he did a excellent job on this one. A cute yet lovely film. The Conrad Boys is 100% good from my point of view.

This was very touching.

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.