... a moment of light
Joel S. Schneider | San Francisco | 09/05/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This film may not be everyone's cup-of-tea, but I highly reccomend it. Sure, its dark and painful but it also shows a moment of light coming to a broken soul. Mickey Rourke's performance is incredibly risky and unusual. He plays an aging alcoholic, possibly brain damaged boxer who's practically mute. Rourke wrote the screen play (under the name, Eddie Cook) but the lead character he portrays has probably no more than a page of dialogue - he's able to deliver a heartbreaking perfomance almost solely through his incredible physical presence. This is the performance that Bob Dylan raved about in his book "Chronicles" and although it ended up being nothing like what I imagined, it is so profoundly moving and poetic that its continued to haunt me. I found it even better on the second viewing. Like, "The Wrestler" it draws certain elements from Rourke's life (in this case, his childhood) but its also quite different in how it achieves its effect. If one expects to see the Rourke charm as displayed in "The Pope Of Greenwich Village" or even in "The Wrestler" one may be disappointed. "Homeboy" is about a character almost totally cut off from the world. I've heard people say its filled with boxing cliches but the reality is that it takes those cliches and turns them on their head. There's no struggle for respect or redemption with cheering crowds and triumphant music. This film is like a blues and thats one reason that Eric Clapton's soulful score works so well. Another great performance by Mickey Rourke."
Unanimous decision: terrible!
Col. Walter E. Kurtz | Cambodia | 10/08/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"It's no contest: "Homeboy" is a terrible movie. Which is really sad to say because it had so much potential. Mickey Rourke and Christopher Walken? Musical score by Eric Clapton? How could it miss? Okay, the script is awful and Mickey must take the blame for this because he wrote it. Mickey's character says about three lines in the first 45 minutes of the movie so it is extremely hard to understand him or, worse, care about him. Walken brings his trademark quirkiness to his role but he is stuck doing an exruciating stage act in a seedy strip joint, among other things. You would think that Mickey Rourke would have a lot to say about boxing in this movie, given his ring experience. But this movie isn't about boxing at all. By the last third of the movie, some mildly interesting things are going on: a budding romance (the actress was Mickey's wife at the time), a plan for a heist, a boxing match thrown in for some reason. With a better script and a better director, this movie could have been a contender. As it is, it doesn't make it out of the first round. This movie is only for die-hard fans of Mickey, Walken and Eric Clapton, the only ones who will have any reason to sit through it until the final bell."
