User reviews

I'm from Brazil, and I don't know how, but Loverboy is available in DVD in Brazil in every videostore...I rented it, I was expecting a great movie as the directional debut of Kevin Bacon, an actor that I think is one of a kind in his choices and performances...The movie is OK, it's about a super jealous mother(Kyra Sedgewick), that made everything to have a son and tries to create him in a world apart from everybody, but then the boy starts to have ''outside'' contacts, and wants to go to school and be a normal kid, and her mother starts going mad. She's that crazy because of her creation, and we learn from flashback scenes, that her parents(Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei) were really ''different'' and she wanted a neighbor(Sandra Bullock) to be her mother. Then there are parts involving the school and a beach-area, and then the finale, that's a bit forced, but I won't reveal anything, because it would ruin the surprise ending. The acting is really good: Kyra Sedgewick is really good here,she's in almost every scene and even that sometimes she overacts, she shows a great range of emotions,a great body(that her husband shows very much in the beginning...) and, in certain parts, she has a strong resemblance to a younger Glenn Close; the boy, who i don't know the name, also gives a bravura performance, as a starter he shows he has talent, sharing a good chemistry with Kyra, and making the ''rebel'' parts very believable; then there are smaller parts or even cameos by Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei as the fathers of the Kyra's character(Marisa overacts here, trying so hard to be a crazy bitch, with colorful clothes); Sandra Bullock as the mother rule-model to the girl-Kyra(She can't show real acting, her part is important, but very small); Mat Dillon as a love interest, (wich isn't well worked in the screenplay, with Dillon doing the best he can with the part); Campbell Scott as the kid's father(that's a cameo); and Oliver Platt as a school worker(nothing important...). The flaws are over the screenplay, that never goes deep in the mother's craziness, and has some confusing parts as the one that happens in the beach and the soundtrack, that is a bit goofy and too funny, when it needed to be more serious. Anyway, this is a good movie, not great not bad, with some flaws but also with some very good stuff, as the acting of the two leads. The disappointment I said, came from the fact that I was waiting something more serious and edgy from Kevin Bacon as a director, not a dramedy, that is what the movie ends being.

This is not an every day movie. It shows that Kevin Bacon has imaginative and creative talent as a director. I certainly think that he should continue directing movies, despite the fact that this movie is far from a successful or great one.

I already thought that Kyra Sedgwick was a great underrated actress but I don't think I have ever seen a movie in which she played the main character. It was however no surprise to see that she pulled this of excellently. She manages to carry the entire movie almost on her own, even though her character is far from perfect.

Because you know that what the Sedgwick character does and wants is wrong and not always the best for her child's development and psychical state. So how could you feel for the main character and agree with the action she takes? The movie does try to explain this but not good enough to justify it- or satisfy me completely. therefor I also can't regard this movie is a good or successful one, even though its definitely well and professionally made.

Needless to say that the screenplay felt very flawed to me. When you already can't always feel or understand the main character, that is never a good sign for a movie. The sort of character and story could had worked and it has worked in previous movies but the story simply is not interesting or compelling enough to make it work.

The fact that the movie is told non-linear also doesn't make the movie any easier or better to watch. I liked the flashback sequences, especially with the Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei character because both go deliciously over-the-top in their roles but it also does make the movie an off-beat and not consistent enough one to watch. It tries to be more than it really is.

The movie is also really lacking in its editing at times, which is simply poor at moments. Also the musical score by Michael Bacon (yes, Kevin Bacon's brother) is way too simple. It's the sort of stuff you would expect to hear in an average TV-series episode.

The movie is filled with some cameos of famous and respected actors. It certainly does uplifts the movie but it's not quite good enough to completely save it as well.

An interesting but not completely successful attempt.

5/10

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Interesting though thematically bludgeoned "family" film detailing the singular obsession Emily (Kyra Sedgwick) has for producing and raising her very own child. While layering a good amount of light-hearted humor into the affair, the movie is undoubtedly subversive in the process of relaying so many well meaning points. The unique material will most likely find an audience with females, and mothers in particular, having much less of a hold on the opposite sex. Although this material is presented in a somewhat compelling manner through the textured workings exuded from Segwick, the novel that this was adapted from clearly lost something in transition, from the competent though unimpressive pacing that stretches some time periods out too long- yet feels way abridged in others, to a just plain unfortunate air of mediocrity found throughout the production values. Not helping things much is Loverboy himself, played by an adorable, but immature Dominic Scott Kay, who crushes some of the realism with his performance. Even as original and interesting as Segwick's character seemed, I became less interested as the character became caricature, displayed through the eventual predictability of her unpredictability. While it was every intention of the film to associate this character with those attributes, what should have been her son's perception of her, ended up being mine as well, which somehow negated all of Krya's quieter, and effecting moments. Bacon himself deserves a job well done for an admirable debut behind the lens (except for not getting more damn re-shoots of that kid!), offering decent direction and a funny little role to boot. The script's insistence at repeating itself does grate a little but fortunately the themes do hold water in this one, although primarily for women and in a non-direct, after-effect sort of way, due to the sensitive though underdeveloped screenplay.

I can't say I'm very surprised by the rating this great movie gets, nor am I shocked to see some moronic comments on how the storyline is "horrible" or "gross". The topic and development of the story are controversial and sensitive to say the least and it's a sad reality that people just can't get pass their judgemental posturing and try to see things from another point of view.

Kyra Sedgwick carries the movie on her shoulders from start to finish. Not only does she give poetry and the right amount of quirkiness to a character that could have been nightmarish otherwise but she really manages to convey the love her character feels for her son effortlessly so much so that the transition to her psychotic obsession is seamless. Even if the plot is made in such a way that it's impossible for you to empathize with her, you certainly feel for her.

The direction is remarkable and adds to the magic of the world Emily creates for her son. Bacon did a great job of going back and forth in time without being confusing, which was a major challenge with the script and the editing works perfectly at revealing Emily's character and story bit by bit without divulging more than necessary and all the while framing what's important to understand her behavior.

It's never tacky, nor judgemental, nor is it complacent. It's a story of love and how far it can go. Recommended.

The problem with this film is that it tries to do too much. It is basically an attempt to describe the intergenerational dysfunctionality of the family of the main character, played ably at times by Kyra Sedgwick. Nevertheless, there are other moments when this female character, who is otherwise clearly possessed by numerous demons, just comes across as plain silly. Silliness isn't necessarily out of tune with what is really happening in this complex, but poorly-told tale; Kyra Sedwick's "parents" in the film are also silly, goofing around until the poignant moment when they realise their 10-year-old daughter singing David Bowie's "Life on Mars" acapella at her school's end-of-year show, is a reference to their freakishness. But the real, deep, important questions the movie raises are left frustratingly unaddressed and unanswered: how can two people who are so crazy about one another ignore the fruit of their love? When does a mother's love turn from genuine care into stifling, morbid possessiveness? At one point, the mother is trying to defend her refusal to let her son attend school by quoting Emerson and Alessandra Montessori; but it is never really clear just what it is she actually dreams for her son, other than always having him by her side. She confesses to the viewer, "I admit, I encouraged arrogance" in her son, but the boy is the only reasonable one of the pair, showing behaviour of a maturity beyond his years. All this confuses the film's audience even further. Perhaps the fact itself that the movie asks these questions is to it's credit; but it ultimately fails to deliver on it's promise.

Kyra Sedgwick was amazingly creepy, which is a shame because the movie otherwise should have been thought out better. While I had no problem with the weird flashbacks into her life as a child, I did not understand the relevance of the Sandra Bullock character, who was clearly a sexual presence. If they were trying to show Kyra's character had no stable parental figures, then they should've made Sandra Bullock a warm, mommy type who disappeared or died or whatever, or they should've showed more of Sandra's character teaching Kyra's character to be sexual and discard men. What they depicted instead was a one-sided crush, which to me, is a whole nother movie.

That being said, I loved watching Kyra's character lose her baby to school. I think that is a transition that could potentially cause a woman to lose her mind, if she is used to having constant interaction with her kid, which you have in the first few years-- and both Kyra and the child actor and the supporting actors nailed this portion of the film. I wish they made the movie just about this and then skipped back and maybe offered a little enlightenment onto why she has no men in her life-- a woman who loses her mind in the process and becomes homicidal. On that note, the ending seemed clearly tagged on.

I also saw this unfortunate stink bomb at the Gen Arts fest.- Trash, complete trash. Will Kevin Bacon ever get work again? If he keeps doing this kind of crap, then I hope not. This film had absolutely NO redeeming values- Terrible script, Dreadful dialog that was delivered by some of the most mediocre actors in Hollywood, uninspired music, atrocious editing, horrible production values (that Vaseline lens that was used whenever Sandra Bullock was on screen- SO Cheesy!) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED- THIS MOVIE IS A COMPLETE CRAPFEST! I agree with the poster above- There is no way that this movie would have EVER been made if it were in the hands of less famous people. If you like a good story, good acting, and good film-making, then Loverboy is most certainly not the film for you.

Kevin Bacon directs this bizarre story adapted by Hannah Shakespeare from Victoria Redel's novel about maternal obsession providing his wife Kyra Sedgwick with a role to spotlight just how fine an actress she truly is. The story is disturbing but vitally interesting. There are problems with the film, the most annoying one being that the dialogue is practically inaudible due to the miking and, more so, due to the musical score which covers all the lines to the point of making the movie seem like a silent movie with music from the pit! Such a shame, because it SEEMS like this is a good script with a lot to say.

Emily (Kyra Sedgwick) is damaged goods, a woman neglected as a child who is determined to have a baby and raise it on her own, lavishing the child with all the affection and attention she desperately missed. After numerous attempts to get pregnant from any available man, she finally succeeds impregnation with Campbell Scott and gives birth to Paul (Dominic Scott Kay) who becomes her entire reason for living. She sequesters Paul form the world, gives him everything a child could want - except association with peers. Her obsession grows to the point of mental illness and the results are devastating. Along the way Emily and Paul encounter people who seek to intervene in their lives: these people are played with great style by cameo roles of Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei, Matt Dillon, Blair Brown and even some of the Bacon's own children! It is a star cast obviously committed to Kevin Bacon's vision of this star vehicle for Sedgwick.

The pacing, cinematography, and acting are all first rate. If only the ugly and senseless music hadn't submerged the dialogue (oddly enough the score was written by Michael Bacon!), this would be an Oscar contender.

First off - this movie was, technically, almost excellent. The acting was almost totally believable (the exception being young Paul, who was consistently beyond the 6-yo level in comprehension and maturity), the storytelling was wondrous, and the camera work was superb - I never kicked out of the movie to say to myself "Gee - the cameraman or editor is getting tricky here".

The big PITA that struck me first was that the editor (for the DVD, anyway) was remarkably unsympathetic to my old-age hearing problems - far too often, dialog was lost in the overwhelming background music. This would have been more easily forgiven if there had been subtitles available - but there weren't.

Come to think of it, on the DVD, there is no 'special feature' menu, and there's no available trailers from the menu - the trailers are, as far as the DVD menus are concerned, an integral part of the main feature. Kinda annoying.

Anyway, back to the movie. A story of an obsessed mother, and how she got that way, and how obsessed she got, wonderfully told. It's not a movie I'd have willingly missed, but it's not a movie I'd want to see a second time.

The story is beautifully told - but it's not a story I enjoyed, and it's not a story I want to hear again. It'd be a great cautionary tale to some parents I know - but they are, universally, people who won't listen to this story.

Fine work, but I'd love to see this crew work on a more worthwhile project - this one missed the boat, where viewer enjoyment is concerned.

One writer wrote that Sedgwick and Bacon "show both heart and tenacity, and as a result this misguided person rated the film a 10. But a 10 means SUPERB, Outstanding, out of this world, a one in a million, no, in 10 million. But this film isn't any good at all, it barely rates a 2. It fails to entertain, it fails to make sense, it fails to even interest us. Less than 60% of the viewers could even stand the movie or the review of it. A score of 10 is worse than ridiculous.

There were several writers who liked the movie, in varying degrees. I didn't. It was missing on a number of points. The writing was terrible, the story didn't speak to me. What person could possibly treat their son, their own flesh and blood that way? I suppose that I should treat the woman Emily as th pitiful character she plays. But the huge disconnect is too great. I cannot make the jump because NO human could possibly be as bad off as Sedgwick. The boy child has 100 times more maturity than the Sedgwick character. How could anyone believe any part of this story.

In summary, the movie left me worse than flat, worse than before I began watching it, sorry that I wasted my time on this. THAT is why this movie is NOT a 10. I was generous in giving it a rating 2, but I felt that as 1 would not be fair, because 1 needs to be reserved for a really horrendous movie. This was just bad, not horrendous.

Kevin Bacon is a fine actor, and I was looking forward to this, his debut as a director. He's certainly worked with some of the best in the business, and one would hope that he'd picked up some great lessons in film making.

But this film, sadly, doesn't offer us much.

I believe the two main reasons it doesn't work are the script, and the casting of Kyra Sedgewick, Mr. Bacons real life wife.

The script is pretentious and humorless and forced, and Ms. Sedgewick, a fine actress with a beautiful body (shown off here quite often) is almost fetishized by her husband in this film- to the detriment of the story itself.

It's a film chock-a-block with celebrity cameos, everyone from Matt Dillion to Sandra Bullock to Campbell Scott and Marisa Tomei, and no one really survives it.

I will say this though- it is a BOLD failure, and I do look forward to what Mr. Bacon can do with a half decent script. He (and we) deserve better.

I get the point of the movie, Kyra plays the neglected child of the self absorbed and sex crazed Kevin and Marissa. I just found it rather poorly written and unnecessarily sexual for these characters. I mean, do we really need to SEE her have sex with half a dozen men in half a dozen places to get the point that she wants to get pregnant? I love Sandra, Kyra and Kevin and Marissa....but this movie was sadly beneath any of their talents. I am happy, however that Kevin Bacan is so thrilled with his wife's fabulous body. I guess that to me was a little weird as well, knowing her husband was the director of all of her sex scenes. Not only was the movie twisted, but the director and cast as well.

This movie was entertaining although a little weird. It was interesting to see Kevin Bacon & Ms. Tomei dressed in 70's garb. They played the part of a married couple totally engrossed in each other and alomist unaware they had a daughter, played by a young Kyra. There were flash-backs to when Kyra was the young daughter who was for the most part ignored by her parents, then flash-forwarding to when she was an adult. Kyra played the part of a woman obsessed with getting pregnant and becoming a mother. She used men as sperm donors only. Not much skin shown, however during the first half of the movie Kyra was running around in her panties with her headlights on for the most part. She really is a well put-together woman. For that it was almost worth the time; otherwise it was a story about a far-fetched mother's obsession with her son. The boy playing her son did a good job and was a cute child actor. Wasn't a total waste of time but not a blockbuster by any means.

Loverboy brilliantly lays parental love out on the table for all of us to observe in two of its twisted, unbalanced forms. The first is that of young Emily's parents, played sublimely by both director Kevin Bacon, and Marisa Tomei, who think that parenting consists of modeling love by bathing together with the door open and constantly cuddling in front of the child, as though she would be nurtured by having a pair of super-sexed hippie babysitters for guardians. The two are a riot, as is Sosie Bacon, playing with her real-life dad, a girl who sings a Bowie song in a school show in order to shock her parents into caring about her. These flashbacks are intricately woven together with the scenes of the adult Emily, played by Bacon's real wife, Kyra Sedgwick, as she raises her six-year-old Paul (Dominic Scott Kay) on her own, calling him Loverboy. Master Kay holds his own as the increasingly suffocated son, trying to escape his mother's web of the other kind of unbalanced love, being kept "safe" and "smart" and unsullied by society. We feel deeply for Paul, hoping that he will be allowed to stay in school as Emily descends heartbreakingly into madness, fearful that the school is poisoning her child. We pray that Matt Dillon, as a friendly fisherman, will be allowed to take Paul for a "boys only" fishing trip, but even then, the desperate Emily stands on the shore screaming at them to be safe while they're trying to have a few bonding moments together. The movie moves and looks like a dream, and like a dream, it has an explosive, cathartic ending that you have to wake up from. The Bacons in every way have put together a searing work of art, beautifully acted, shot and mounted, that should haunt anyone who can identify with its universally tragic themes.

I hone



I haven't disliked a movie quite this much for a long time. Why did this one hit me so hard? Why do I hate it to the point of wanting to call Kevin Bacon up to ask Why??? I respect both Bacon and Sedgewick. There are a ton of walk-ons almost like this was an A-list Hollywood party. But this almost makes it all the worse. Because with that A list comes some expectation of something if not great at least passable. But this just got worse by the minute. Maybe the movie did accomplish some level of character development because I honestly couldn't have hated Kyra's personna more. Honestly the best thing I could say about this movie is that it ended. The young boy however did a good job. Sorry Kevin.

I am sure that Loverboy was a well-meaning film, but it seemed like a vanity production in which Mr. Bacon asked all his friends to appear in it for nothing. While Kyra is a wonderful actress and never looked better, who cared what she wanted or even understood it? This script was so maudlin and confusing that I totally lost interest after 40 minutes and fast-forwarded to the last scene, which seemed to have nothing to do with anything I had seen, suggesting they didn't even get to the story until sometime long after I had given up. Mr. Bacon is a great actor but if he's going to attempt directing he should find a better script.

We begin in the present day with sexy mother Kyra Sedgwick (as Emily Stoll) and cute 6-year-old son Dominic Scott Kay (as "Loverboy" Paul) in a car. She tells him how she wanted to have a baby ("Loverboy") desperately. Her trying to get pregnant takes up the first flashback sequence. When artificial insemination doesn't work out, Ms. Sedgwick decides it's best to receive "multiple ejaculations from different sources," or, "many men equals no father." The simulated library encounter doesn't even look close enough to be making the necessary contact, but eventually Sedgwick is successfully a mother...

Next flashback series goes farther back in time, to introduce Sedgwick as a little girl with self-absorbed parents Kevin Bacon (as Mark) and Marisa Tomei (as Sybil). This seems to be saying something about Sedgwick's character, and may be predicting problems for her son. However, none of it is really very clear. Not sure what to make of the story, although Sedgwick and Mr. Bacon (her husband, also the director) do okay. A look at the credits shows most of the Bacon family was involved with the making of "Loverboy". The topic is unsavory, but ripe with dramatic possibilities; herein, they are not fully realized.

***** Loverboy (1/24/05) Kevin Bacon ~ Kyra Sedgwick, Dominic Scott Kay, Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei

This novel turned motion picture debut by Kevin Bacon, has all the ingredients of an interesting and moving film. Unfortunately these ingredients seem to fade away slowly as the film progresses. Kyra Sedgwick who not only acts terrifically throughout the film, but also narrates it as well. Her character, a women obsessed with having a child, and keeping it to herself forever, loses its flavor as it becomes more and more funny than serious. The small boy played by Dominic Scott Kay, should have been either re-cast or re-shot several times. His artificial deliveries take away from the seriousness of Sedgwicks maternal character again and again, and seem to make the film comical at times when it should not be. Kevin Bacon does surprise with his debut of a motion picture behind the camera, unlike his peer Nic Cage, with that mess of a film "Sonny". Bacon also keeps the film watchable between some of the arid scenes with is comedic paternal character circa 1970's. Hopefully the six degrees of Kevin Bacon will continue to lend to more films directed by Bacon, after this noble and respectable first effort.

I read this book and saw the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival (10/2005). This is a complex and nuanced story about a single mother's obsessive love for her only child. The story explores the psychology of this obsession and the sometimes sublime, sometimes tragic effects it has on the lives of both mother and son. It is a wonderful adaptation of a novel by Victoria Redel (Greywolf 2001, Harcourt 2002 in paperback) that I imagine would present some challenges given its non-linear time frame and the careful parsing of its secret twists and turns. The acting is superb and the characters portrayed are funny, endearing, and multifaceted. Marissa Tomei and Kevin Bacon are hilarious as the 70's era, sexed up, deliriously in love and sadly neglectful parents. Kyra Sedgwick is brilliant as she confidently captures the complex subtleties of her character, making it easy for the audience to empathize with what would otherwise be, and at times is a difficult and disturbing obsessiveness. Other performances by Sandra Bullock as the sultry and insightful neighbor, Oliver Platt as the nervous and nerdy school administrator, and Matt Dillon as the love interest you can't help but root for, all contribute to what is a very entertaining and meaningful film.