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The Boys in the Band - Review: 2 hours that feel like 2 minutes

 


Have you ever sit with your friends for a night of laughter and a good talk? Have you ever been to a party that… didn’t go that well? That is what happens in The Boys in the Band, and it is surprisingly perfect.

More than anything, have fun

The movie has many funny moments that make you laugh, while others may make you cringe a bit. In both cases, you’ll have a good time watching it.

99% of the movie is a birthday party that didn’t go that well… At some point, things get kind of heavy, and discomfort invades the room. Well, who never?

The most curious for me was that I would never think that this would work. Who would think that a bunch of guys arguing in a room for 2 hours would make such a good movie? I wouldn’t think I would want to watch something like that, not even half of it. Yet, when the movie was over, I asked, “Already?” It seemed like 20 minutes had passed instead of 2 hours, and that is the biggest compliment you can make to a piece of entertainment.

Good text, good pace, good actors

The way it was shot worked perfectly. It can be because most of the movie happens in the same room, or because of some camera perspective I know nothing about, you feel like you’re there. You are at that party. You feel like dancing, and you feel uncomfortable at times. You may even feel like sharing. Perhaps, you’ll want to stop Michael from hurting the others when it is pretty clear that his biggest issues are with himself. A tremendous protagonist, a fantastic character, interpreted by an amazing actor.

The text is excellent, exceptionally well written; you never lose interest. It has a good pace, and the fantastic cast makes it shine even more. Talking about the cast, this is what inclusion means. Well done!

60s Context

A group of gay friends celebrates the birthday of one of them inside a house - in the 1960s. What seems so natural now was illegal at the time. They couldn’t be there; they couldn’t socialize. They couldn’t exist. 

The rising tension wonderfully created by the author brings up many things. The fears, despair, sometimes confusion that those men needed to bear… in silence. In a time where everything was illegal for them, they can’t be ignored anymore.

That was the goal of the original play, the base of this movie. The play was a true revolution and a significant risk for all involved in the production. Again, it is an excellent piece of writing.

Beyond the Movie

My advice for you is to watch the movie. After that, you also need to watch the small documentary (also available on Netflix) to better understand the original context of the play. It is around half an hour of fascinating information contextualizing what you watched. It has historical information, interviews with the author, and the actors of the movie.

Overall, The Boys in the Band is a great movie you must watch. 

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