Honey Boy Blu Ray Review (Umbrella Entertainment)
Honey Boy is a 2019 drama film produced and directed by Alma Har’el (Paul Smith: The Reddest Herring, Bombay Beach, LoveTrue, and 11/8/16). It was written by actor Shia LaBeouf (The Tax Collector, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Fury, Disturbia, and I Robot), based on his real life experiences. It was produced by Emmy winner Fred Berger (La La Land, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Elizabeth Harvest, I Think We’re Alone Now, The Professor, and Dreamland). The budget was $3.5 million and it grossed $3.4 million at the box office.
In 2005, Otis Lort (played by: Lucas Hedges from Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Mid90s, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) is a former movie star who has an extreme alcohol problem. He crashes his car and gets into a violent drunken altercation with police. He is forced to go to a rehab facility, where his counselor, Dr. Moreno (played by: Laura San Giacomo from Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Just Shoot Me!, Pretty Woman, Suicide Kings, and The Stand) tells him that if he leaves the facility before they say he is ready and the court will send him to prison for his violent offenses. Dr. Moreno tells Otis that he has PTSD and she encourages him to look into his past through exposure therapy. Going back a decade earlier to 1995, Otis (played by: Noah Jupe from A Quiet Place 1/2, The Undoing, Ford v Ferrari, and Suburbicon) remembers working as a child actor, who is accompanied on set by his father James (played by: Shia LaBeouf from Transformers franchise, Lawless, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Eagle Eye, and Constantine), a former rodeo clown. James is four years sober but clearly on edge and about to throw it all away. He is unpredictable, manic and aggressive lately. The two live in a meager motel complex where a shy young woman (played by: FKA Twigs from Brighton Beach) lives across from them.
Otis is in the Big Brother program at the behest of his mother (played by: Natasha Lyonne from American Pie franchise, Scary Movie 2, Orange Is the New Black, Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby, and Blade: Trinity), despite James’s dislike and jealousy. Otis wants to go to a baseball game with Tom (played by: Clifton Collins Jr. from Westworld, Lucky Day, The Mule, Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, and The Vault) from the program and James agrees if he can meet Tom first. When he is offered a part in a movie that will be shot in Canada, Otis calls his mother, who isn’t sure if James can accompany him because he’s a registered sex offender. Otis deals with his present day frustrations with group member Perry (played by: Byron Bowers from The Chi) and his counselor Alec (played by: Martin Starr from Freaks and Geeks, Xtro 3: Watch the Skies, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Knocked Up, and Superbad) when trying to get his life together. James forces Otis to rehearse his scenes over and over again. He is very hard on his son when it comes to preparing for his acting role. They fight over it and their argument gets heated. Otis starts to connect with the Shy girl in his motel complex after being left alone. James and Otis struggle to get along during this trap and working on this acting project. Can these two become a real family for once and make it work????
Known actor Shia LaBeouf gets real personal with Honey Boy when it comes to the script that he wrote based off his real life. This one explores a rough relationship between father and son. It shows what Hollywood and acting can do to a family. This is his most personal film and performance. Shia LaBeouf was in high demand as a child actor but the last few years he’s been doing some real serious roles as he has got older. He was a decent actor when he was really popular back then but he’s actually turned in some great performances including this one since then. Lucas Hedges and Noah Jupe are top notch as the leads. They both play the Otis character based off Shia completely different but they both turn in their best work so far in Honey Boy. I love the chemistry between Noah Jupe and Shia LaBeouf. It’s real awkward and dangerous at times, Honey Boy has an amazing supporting cast which includes Laura San Giacomo, Clifton Collins Jr., Martin Starr, and Natasha Lyonne. They all help elevate this production. This drama gets dark but it does have it’s humor every once in awhile. If you want to witness quality writing and acting, Honey Boy delivers on both. RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Umbrella Entertainment! This 1080p (2.35.1) transfer looks very impressive on blu ray. Honey Boy shows the rougher side of Hollywood and making movies. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio English track is good, just remember this is not the type of movie that’s going to roar through your home set up. The dialogue is very clean and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English subtitles. This home video release from Umbrella has no extras on it. It has reversible artwork. It’s available everywhere in Australia and various spots online. It’s also available on Amazon Prime if you want to stream it first. CHECK IT OUT!!!!
Buy it right now @ https://www.umbrellaent.com.au/movies/4613-honey-boy-blu-ray.html
