My Review of "Honey Boy"

Honey Boy came out quietly last year and I wish it made such a bigger splash. It's a multi-leveled movie because on one hand it's an exploration of a character but yet it is also based on a true story about one of the actors that plays in the movie. There's a weird sense of dramatic irony based on our own knowledge of the movie prior to watching the movie.

This movie starts out with the main character Otis who is in fact a representation of Shia when he was in his early 20s. He's filming a movie and doing stunt work. Everything seems to be okay because we're seeing the backscenes of a movie being made and then we realize there's more to Otis than meets the eye.

Otis is pretty much doing everything that we expect a movie star at that age would do. He's drinking, partying and meeting with women. It looks like he's having a grand old time that is until his drinking and reckless behavior starts to get a little out of control.

He's arrested by the police and taken to a facility to help him control his anger and substance abuse problems. Mainly they're concerned for his mental health. One of his caretakers advises him to write a journal of his life. This is when the movie gets even more crazy.

We start to dive into his earlier past when he's a child actor. Otis seems to be a really mature child when he was younger as he was practicing his craft. The problem is that he has a strained relationship with his father who is actually played by Shia. This is when I was like whoa! Things are getting really meta for me.

His father is doing his best but has rage issues himself. We learn that he also had a troubled upbringing and perhaps this becomes a generational thing. One generation abuses the next generation and the cycle continues. He doesn't seem very content with his life and the one thing that keeps him going is the success of his son.

The problem with basing his happiness on the success of his son is that he later resents his son. The father himself wanted to be in the entertainment industry but never made it. Now he sees his son have a meteoric rise that he will never have. His jealousy shows and in a sense it emasculates him.

Throughout the movie Otis goes through his life recounting situations that may have had an effect on his current behavior. There is a lot of crazy stuff that happened to him as a child and you have to wonder how anyone would have grown up as a well adjusted adult after living such a life.

As the audience member we come into the movie already knowing that this is based on the memoirs of Shia's life and the fact that Shia plays the father is kind of a mind blowing moment. Each of the scenes feel so genuine and done with such care. You can tell that everything was done meticulously and with meaning. It is very much a nice art piece that is reflective of authentic life experiences and how they come back to change the ways we interact with others.

There are multiple reasons for you to watch this movie. If you're interested in seeing what an abused child actor went through it doesn't get more real than this. Those of you that are interested in Shia should check it out because these stories are probably very true. This story is also such a great examination of human psyche and how one generation can influence another. It's an exploration of human relations and how actions have consequences regardless of how insignificant you feel you are.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie as not only an exploration of the characters but also the realness of the stories. I couldn't believe someone could have grown up so well adjusted after going through so much. I have to give this movie an 8.5 out of 10. It is a very good movie that I think a lot of people should check out and I highly recommend it.