Synopsis
It is 1984. Frank is a determined English teenager who runs away from high school to find an alternative gay lifestyle in Amsterdam. He finds a home and a job at the "House of Boys", a bar-cum-brothel run by a strict Madame who has an eye for what his punters crave. Frank works his way up from barman to on-stage dancer and falls in love with some of his housemates, Jake. The first intimations of what is described as 'the gay cancer', casts a long shadow over Frank's tight-knit group of friends. Yet despite the troubles that cloud the hopes and dreams of young Frank, his perseverance, along with support from a willing doctor, will carry him through.
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Cast
- Layke AndersonFrank
- Benn NorthoverJake
- Udo KierMadame
- Stephen FryDr. Marsh
- Steven WebbAngelo
- Chris McHallemFrank's Father
- Vicky KriepsFlower Shop Girl
- Harry FerrierKarl
- Michael KühlChristopher
- Gintare ParulyteRita
Recommendations
- 60
Boxoffice Magazine
There's nothing wrong with social message melodramas that tackle the AIDS crisis and certainly not every gay release has to please crowds like "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but Schlim has a good-time movie with a likable cast. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The performances have heart, and a sorrowful tenderness courses through the self-described "fairy tale," even at its kitschiest. - 50
Slant Magazine
Call me crazy-stupid, but locker-room anal sex aside, didn't Christina Aguilera just enact this scenario last fall in "Burlesque"? - 50
The New York Times
A gay tragedy in three acts and more than a dozen excellent songs, House of Boys conveys an emotional honesty that overrides its dated style. - 40
Village Voice
And yet, for all its hanging on the details of the boys' heavily eroticized performances and its graphing of the relationships between the young performers, the film is at once too drawn out and underdeveloped. - 40
Variety
Thesping is more engaging than accomplished, as Anderson's constant smile cracks around the edges and Northover's dourness is a bit overdone. - 20
Time Out
Once AIDS rears its head, this nostalgic look back goes into melodrama mode - and quickly descends from bad to much, much worse.
