HONEY BOY QUICKIE

I never thought I would actually have this come out of my mouth in my life, but Honey Boy is a REVELATION in the truest sense.

It’s kind of hard to appreciate the film on the same level I did if you aren’t familiar with the background and struggles of the main actor Shia Lebouf’s background. His strange father that I often heard about in a joking matter on talk shows, but never really knew the extent of the psychological and physical abuse.

Honey Boy is not only a fantastic character study and a great highlight of Shia Lebeouf’s fantastic acting ability--yet another performance ignored by the Oscars bafflingly—-but it also is kind of a film about overcoming your demons and forgiving people that have wronged you which is something they often don’t make films about. Forgiveness is rarely something explored in Hollywood movies and whenever it is I always give bonus points (I haven’t forgotten you Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood).

While I can’t say this is an enjoyable film, especially if you grew up with addict parents who were both emotionally and psychologically abusive, none of that stuff feels fake or melodramatic. You can tell that Shia has poured his mental anguish into every page of this screenplay and never does this movie even feel preachy or appealing to Oscar-bait sensibilities. It’s just a great film, plain and simple.