Worried About the Boy (2010)

Boy George can certainly be described as an 80's icon. I distinctly remember as a youngster first seeing his band Culture Club perform 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' on some kids TV show some time in the early 80's and then seeing him interviewed immediately afterwards and being utterly amazed he was not a she. I seem to recall fellow school-mates being somewhat flabbergasted about this the following day too. These were less enlightened times as far as homosexuality was concerned, so I guess Boy George was even more of a cultural happening taking that into account. Despite his image, part of the reason Culture Club became so massively popular was that George himself was never promoted as threatening sexually, while the band's music was very contemporary new wave pop with little edge. But like most things that connect so fully with mainstream culture, the fame and success only lasted a fairly short while.This TV biopic is unusual in that it hardly focuses on the Culture Club years at all. Instead, it covers George's pre-fame and post-peak tabloid celebrity years. In doing this, it sort of misses out the most dramatic section of the story and looks at what led George there and how it affected him negatively afterwards. This approach means that you have to accept what the film is not, although it definitely makes the story more small-scale and lower key. The early years are typified by the fashion scene that revolved around the Blitz Club which was populated by the New Romantics; while the later scenes happen in the midst of George being hounded by the press over his reported heroin addiction. The film flashes forward and back to these two periods to tell the story. And in some respects it's quite a limited story in all honesty. The early years were typified, after all, by George not really doing a lot and gaining minor celebrity for merely wearing the right clothes. One of the more notable events happens when he briefly hooks up with Malcolm McLaren – very well played by Mark Gatiss – and is photographed with his then pop pets Bow Wow Wow but little came of this, so it's just a colourful detail.Mainly the film works as a time capsule movie, where we are transported back to the early 80's. Several characters from the New Romantic scene appear, such as Steve Strange, Marilyn and Kirk Brandon; the latter of which had a sexual affair with the singer. The costuming and soundtrack have been chosen well and despite the low budget, it's convincingly of its time. The main acting duties are covered by newcomer Douglas Booth, who is decidedly more androgynous than the real Boy George. He puts in a pretty good performance, especially when you consider he was only 17 years old at the time. On the whole, this is a film that should appeal to those who like biopics about popular music figures. It might not be the most dramatic story but it is well told for what it is.

Sure, Culture Club were a pleasantly colourful English pop group from the wacky pastel-and-frills, gender-bending pop scene of the early 180s. I'm not a fan, although they did have a catchy song or two and an amusingly cute line with the press regarding sex, drugs and other facets of fame. However, I am an historian and an appreciator of bio-flicks, and this one does no-one any favours. Much of the movie's tiny budget seems to have been spent on costumes and makeup, and of course no-one goes outside for any length of time lest viewers catch sight of something which is not of the early 1980s. Also, I never knew that the interior of the famous Blitz club resembled someone's rather shabby living-room. Nor did I realise that the patrons were exactly the same every night or that they didn't seem to change their clothes. Unless of course the director simply filmed all of the scenes set at Blitz in one go to save money and time. There are virtually no contemporary period 1980s pop-songs, undoubtedly because the movie makers couldn't afford them. Instead there are cheesy 'approximations' of the likes of Duran Duran and New Order, along with much bland, anonymous 'techno' filler. George's brush with Malcom McLaren and Bow Wow Wow (ironically a band with a much more interesting story) is told, amid a confusing screenplay which makes much of confusing flash-backs and flash-forwards. Plus the time-period under consideration ends at 1987, so don't expect to see The (aged, balding) former Boy sweeping the streets to pay his debts to society. Okay, the acting is actually pretty good but sadly the movie is just another conspicuously cheap TV-movie styled bio-pic. And by the way, if you're waiting for Culture Club to form and start playing already, be prepared to sit it out until the very end and an incomplete, horribly-mimed rendition of 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?'

*Possible Spoilers* I watched this and it was AMAZING. Full of everything a television programme could need; angst, comedy, romance, honest truths...the list goes on! The acting is incredibly good, and always believable. Though it was all wonderful, my personal favourite parts were the cute and subtle bits of romance. In parts, it made me 'aww' audibly! Douglas Booth, who played George, looks an incredibly amount like him. A perfectly chosen actor, there in my opinion. And, as an added bonus, he's absolutely gorgeous! The only low part for me, was that the lip-syncing of the songs was rather bad. The mouths move to the right words, but it doesn't look like he's actually singing it. But this is merely a small thing, and hardly really detracts from how wonderful the whole thing was. I would highly recommend watching/buying this. A brilliant piece of drama! Douglas Booth is definitely a star in the making! Look out for him in the future!

Just watched "Worried about the boy" based on Boy Georges' rise to fame,,,,,, Well,, talk about nostalgia brought it all back to me,,, i,e being different dressing to excess and not giving a fu**,( however during these times I did have a job and did not rob out of coat pockets..lol,,,What struck me about the movie was it seemed soo accurate in the music,,, the times,, clothes,, and the people on the scene,,,...Having not been to the Blitz club and admiring the movement from a distance I really enjoyed the pointing out of who was there,, ie Spandau,, Idol etc etc,, OOOh again I wished I had gone there,,, Enjoyed the kirk Brandon story,, Wow didn't know that happened umm, remember seeing him in Spear of Destiny ( wot a hunk) and just assuming he was a total straight man,,, well u never know apparently,,,, In a later court case about 1999 Brandon sought to prove George a liar over his autobiagrophical claims that they were lovers , the Judge ruled George to be telling the truth,,,, Brandon bankcrupt and now married vied he would continue to prove there was no truth to the story,,, well one only has to look on gooogle images for photos of the two together ( make up your own minds),,Hey back to the film,, Douglas Booth (George) plays a great part despite being only 17, (wow) at times made me look twice at the screen his portrayal ( whilst in full make up) was uncanny, no wonder Boy upon visiting the set was said to be pleased with how the production was going ,, hey wouldn't you want a young established model, lovely boy portraying you??,, Great performances from Matt Horne ( Jon Moss) and Marc Warren ( Steve Strange) But for me the "steal the show" performances in equal measures go to Mark Gatiss ( Malcolm Mclaren) and Freddy Fox ( Marilyn) too many good lines to quote here,, although malcoms " Im being sent a new house,,, but bit by bit" was good,,,,Whether your a fan of " The Boy" or not if u were in your prime in the 80s dressing to excess and having lots of fun this film is for you,,, if not still give it a go as the music, colour,, ambiance and music makes it a ( in Cillas words) A " Lorra Lorra Fun"