I'd originally watched BUDDY BOY about three years ago but never reviewed it for some reason. I remembered how I felt about it but wanted to revisit again before I made any comments in on it.
The storyline involves around Francis-a 'nice' but a bit slow and socially-retarded individual who has no life other than working at a photo-development shop and taking care of his alcoholic, piece of sh!t stepmother. A chance encounter with a sexy neighbor (who Francis has been spying on) works out in his favor when said neighbor seems to recognize his decent qualities despite his awkwardness-and goes so far as to bone the poor sap. They begin a 'relationship' of sorts-but as Francis becomes more obsessed with sexy-neighbor and his paranoia gets the best of him-things start spiraling downward rapidly...
Overall-BUDDY BOY is a decent film that touches on subjects concerning obsession, paranoia, mental break-down, reality vs. fantasy, etc...in other words-all things that make for a laugh-a-minute joyride. But seriously- there are some heady subjects that are touched on and handled well. I guess my only gripes are that the film feels like a hundred other films that I've seen that deal with the same basic subject-matter. What BUDDY BOY is at it's heart-is basically REAR WINDOW with elements of every other paranoia-themed film out there. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing-as this one stands up well on it's own-I just don't feel that I'm seeing anything new or original. Also- although the pace is decent in terms of trying to build suspense and keep the viewer guessing-it still felt a little over-long to me. I think a bit of trimming in the editing room could have made it a bit more streamlined. The semi-ambiguous but predictable ending felt rehashed as well. If it sounds like I'm bagging on this one-I'm really not. It's well- acted, well-shot, and a solid film overall...I just didn't leave the film feeling like I saw anything fresh or extremely noteworthy...7/10
The storyline involves around Francis-a 'nice' but a bit slow and socially-retarded individual who has no life other than working at a photo-development shop and taking care of his alcoholic, piece of sh!t stepmother. A chance encounter with a sexy neighbor (who Francis has been spying on) works out in his favor when said neighbor seems to recognize his decent qualities despite his awkwardness-and goes so far as to bone the poor sap. They begin a 'relationship' of sorts-but as Francis becomes more obsessed with sexy-neighbor and his paranoia gets the best of him-things start spiraling downward rapidly...
Overall-BUDDY BOY is a decent film that touches on subjects concerning obsession, paranoia, mental break-down, reality vs. fantasy, etc...in other words-all things that make for a laugh-a-minute joyride. But seriously- there are some heady subjects that are touched on and handled well. I guess my only gripes are that the film feels like a hundred other films that I've seen that deal with the same basic subject-matter. What BUDDY BOY is at it's heart-is basically REAR WINDOW with elements of every other paranoia-themed film out there. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing-as this one stands up well on it's own-I just don't feel that I'm seeing anything new or original. Also- although the pace is decent in terms of trying to build suspense and keep the viewer guessing-it still felt a little over-long to me. I think a bit of trimming in the editing room could have made it a bit more streamlined. The semi-ambiguous but predictable ending felt rehashed as well. If it sounds like I'm bagging on this one-I'm really not. It's well- acted, well-shot, and a solid film overall...I just didn't leave the film feeling like I saw anything fresh or extremely noteworthy...7/10