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Janorm wrote on 03/11/2008:

This is a story line about a closeted youn gay man whose father just happens to be running for Sennatorial Reelection. Very entertaining with great twists and turns throughout. This film is very true to real life. A great addition to your Gay Cinema Collection!

dremalin wrote on 08/09/2007:

Do not rent this crap...It was slow to get off the ground and the acting was forgetable...The only good part was the credits...

Movie Lover wrote on 01/16/2007:

This is quite simply one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Poorly written, edited, and directed, it also has the distinction of not having one interesting character. What could have been a terrific film dealing with such issues as father and son relationships and politics instead becomes a smarmy, self-satisfied and self-righteous waste of film. The characters who populate this film are so whiny and unappealing that you actually hope bad things happen to them. The father, played by the usually good Michael Lerner, is so overstated and one note that it's far too easy to hate him and as such there's no real drama to speak of. I pitied Karen Allen the most, a fine actress reduced to the stereotype of the perpetually drunk Senator's wife who puts up with her husband's severally abusive ways because she's become accustomed to the wealth and lifestyle that comes with it. And the son, played by the lifeless Matt Newton, is a blank slate, with no personality and no conviction. Add to that a pointless and cliched framing device (the son relates the whole story to a journalist), boring secondary characters (Izzie especially), a stupid, predictable climax and an even more stupid ending, and you've got this mess. If you must, rent it first, otherwise avoid at all costs.

Histrio wrote on 01/01/2007:

I'm amazed at the shallowness of the reviews I've read here. If you're looking for romantic soft porn or dynamic political statements, you can find them elsewhere. The story here is about a son's relationship with his father and being his own person. And in this the movie succeeds very well.

The acting is uniformly excellent, on a character level, which is all that really matters. Who cares if someone kisses open mouthed or not! As for accents, I've lived a number of years in the South, and not everyone has one. Look at Stephen Colbert - tho admittedly, he trained himself out of it. But then many politicians do also, and let's face it, W trained himself into one.

Granted, I didn't think the movie was perfect - the editing was a bit choppy for my taste, as well as some of the lighting, and the continuity jarred at times. Skip seemed to come out of nowhere on first viewing, and the flashback ACT-UP protest scene didn't seem to fit. But on the other hand, there were moments I truly admired, such as when Henry is relating his father's mantra about the good of the many as opposed to the good of the one and we go to split screen with Anthony considering his options.

The writing is also very good. The dialogue, especially among the family members is extremely revealing, and when Henry is talking with the reporter, we get the feeling he is actually in a therapy session. And the relationship between Anthony and Izzie is clearly delineated with a minimum of fuss and explanation.

As to stereotypes, yeah, there are a few. But that's how storys are told. We need stereotypes to a certain extent to communicate our ideas.

In short, if you're looking for the typical gay love story or coming of age film, you won't find it here. If you're looking for something a bit deeper, then you will.

pepe wrote on 12/17/2006:

If you love cliches and stereotypes, this is the movie for you. My partner and I rented this movie at Blockbuster before making the commitment to buy and we sure saved our money!

The filming feels more like a home movie and some of the dialogue is dated such as when Izzie mentions JonBenet Ramsey and the guys talk about Act Up. I guess it was supposed to be somewhat of a period-piece, but it doesn't follow through.

Some other items didn't make sense to us either: the lack of southern accents in a family supposedly from North Carolina, for one. Only the mother has one. The mother is also dressed like Jackie Kennedy and does the same to Izzie. She also seems to be quite sober for someone who constantly has a drink in her hand. Besides that, why would a senator from North Carolina announce his reelection campaign at a small college in New York?

Do yourself a favor and skip Poster Boy for something less cliched.