The Mudge Boy (2003) User Reviews (33)

Let's give them something to talk about...

[jpschapira · 8/10 · 8 March 2005]

I got to give this film a chance. There's a story told, and it is very strong, I know. It could be seen as gay, stupid, mean. Yes, the movie is extremely mean and that makes it difficult to watch. You have this quiet, interesting kid, and then all the jerks; hanging out drinking beer, having sex. These are the type of relationships Duncan (Emile Hirsch) had never thought about until they arrived.

The movie makes a great job in narrating the two sides of the story. Duncan's mom died; the boy is living with his cold, severe father, Edgar (Richard Jenkins). Duncan remains unnoticed all the time; he spends the hours by himself. Sometimes he rides his bicycle, just to get out a little bit, or plays with his chicken. This chicken, together with many of the things (a sweater, a lamp) Duncan has, belonged to his mother: "It was her favorite", he says later when a girl asks about it. Edgar, otherwise, is hiding his pain, but why? He loved his wife but now has a boy to take care of. Maybe Edgar is scared to see Duncan suffering because of his wife's death. Maybe Edgar doesn't even want to take care about Duncan, although he seems to be doing an effort. When they both sat at the table for dinner (prepared by Duncan), the boy asks his father about his day: "It was fine", Edgar answers. Then Duncan asks about the food: "Ok", his father says. After this, Duncan starts talking to himself, asking questions about his day, just because his father hasn't asked him about it. This is the relationship they handle. Eventually, Duncan will start working for his father: "You're strong boy", Edgar says. But is he? The other side shows to us the relationship Duncan creates with the other boys, the ones I couldn't call friends, and the problems he has with them. He wants to get along, we can see. Even more when he meets Perry (Tom Guiry), and starts buying beer and going out at night with elder people. His father is being good about it because he knows that Duncan could use some friendship. But then Duncan is stealing alcohol from his father for them. They all go to a party, and some people start to bother Duncan: "Chicken boy, chicken boy". Perry gets angry and punches them. Duncan can't believe it. He likes Perry, they are probably friends, but does he like Perry in another way? Is Duncan gay? Is this a question we should ask to ourselves? Probably, because Duncan and Perry experience things together. You could know Perry wanted to do it, to try something different, or to teach some sex lessons to Duncan; the boy with no experience (touching his own nipples in his bed). All of these could be.

Emile Hirsch is a very good actor. I have seen him in all of his movies, except for "Imaginary Heroes". He trapped me in "The Emperor's Club" and in "The girl Next Door". Great acting jobs, in not great movies. Here he is just great (again), with all of his weird faces. He is weird; also calm and gentle. Many things. Richard Jenkins is superb, in showing what I named "silent emotion". Very interesting how a man can feel very much, but say very little. Tom Guiry is the one that steals the show in the end. He is brave and risky, as no other young actor. He says his lines so strongly that they get to you, just as in "Mystic River".

And of course, we can't forget the creator of the whole project; because this is an indie gem. Michael Burke wrote a beautiful and real script. He directed his actors so naturally that everything seemed perfect. His editor also did a hell of a job putting all those still shots together. Very good film-making (I love still shots).

When the film ends, we could feel like there is something missing, something unsolved. But anyway: is there anything else to solve?

Not easy viewing, but worth it.

[shneur · 7/10 · 13 March 2005]

It's always difficult to watch a film where we know more about the protagonist than he (or she) knows about himself. That's the case here: it's obvious to us viewers from fairly early on that Duncan Mudge has some significant homoerotic attractions. When he would turn out to be "gay" or not when his adolescence is over we don't know, and it's really irrelevant (except that he seems a little on the old side for still being in that sexually indeterminate stage). What we are asked to deal with is a sensitive young man in a particularly insensitive corner of a culture that is becoming more and more callous to the inner lives of young people by the day. We're not told exactly when the action takes place, but we have to assume it's pre-Internet; otherwise we'd fault the character for not reaching out that way. In any case, Emile Hirsch does a fine job with a difficult role, and leaves us wounded on his behalf, but not without hope that the whole experience will in the long run have made him, and perhaps us as well, a better human being.

Less is MUDGE More

[NJMoon · 6/10 · 11 May 2006]

Upon seeing the short film FISHBELLY WHITE (part of BOYS LIFE 5) I thought that Michael Burke's story of an off-beat rural farm boy and his pet chicken was both charming and shocking. I even thought it would be fascinating to see a feature length film of the story. I was wrong. Whatever the lyrical magic was that made FISHBELLY WHITE so fascinating seems to have disappeared in THE MUDGE BOY. The main problem is the film's determination to change the character of Perry from a mysteriously handsome romantic hero to a brutish homophobe. In FISHBELLY, Perry is Duncan's (and the viewer's) Heathcliff - a hunky farmhand who befriends our hero. The scene under the train bridge is breathtakingly romantic. MUDGE tries to re-create the scene, but the tone is quite different, with a defensive Perry ruining the mood entirely. Emile Hirsch turns in a fine performance as the sensitive Duncan. Richard Jenkins (of "Six Feet Under" fame) is fine as the grieving dad but Tom Guiry seems all wrong as the bitter Perry. While there is much to recommend THE MUDGE BOY, it's predecessor is a country mile ahead of MUDGE, proving less is sometimes 'mudge' more.

This is a remake of Fishbelly White (1998) by Michael Burke.

[PWB · 28 October 2006]

This is a remake of the short film Fishbelly White by Michael Burke (1998). The plot line and characters are all the same, but the story is fleshed out in The Mudge Boy.

In Fishbelly White, Duncan's character is more homo-erotic; the under-the-track-scene is more deliberate and graphic and explains much of what is left out of The Mudge Boy. In Fishbelly White, Duncan bites the head off his favorite chicken during the pick-up scene with the drunken youths and the rape scene never occurs.

The two films make for an interesting comparison of the two director's visions.

In the Shadow of Sadness

[thinker1691 · 6/10 · 29 August 2005]

The Mudge Boy tells the story of Duncan Mudge quietly played by Emile Hirsch. While his father struggles to maintain their small farm and hold their fragile relationship together, the boy deals with the loss of his mother whom he loved dearly. After his mother dies, the boy struggles to develop an uneasy alliance with his father and a close friendship with his friend Perry, who himself endures mounting physical abuse at home and a troubling bisexual personality. Unable to bond with teen friends, Duncan develops a deep kinship with his pet chickens. This in turn spurs jeers and harsh ridicule from his peers. The film depicts the unstable friendship of Duncan and Perry as the younger boy is drawn towards and is fascinated with the older boy's sexual promiscuity which results in an unexpected rape. Despite the tragedy the boy and his father deal with, the end result is one of enduring parental love and understanding. A fine film for those seeking a movie with heart. ***

A Quietly Brilliant Little Film About Coping and Other Atrocities of Living

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 12 March 2005]

Michael Burke both wrote and directed this first class, finely wrought exploration of coming of age in the emotional battlefield of rural bigotry. Rarely has so much been said so successfully with so little dialogue. Burke is clearly a gifted filmmaker about whom we should be hearing much! The film opens with what appears to be an idyllic country road over which a person on an old bicycle is delivering eggs. As the credits are ending we see the person on the bicycle walk up a steep incline then fall to the ground. As the actual film opens we discover that this person was the mother of Duncan (Emile Hirsch in a career making performance), a fourteen year old young lad who is left mourning with his distant father Edgar (Richard Jenkins). Unable to wholly cope with the loss of his mother, Duncan holds closely to her remnants - a chicken as a pet who his mother taught him could be calmed by putting the chicken's head in Duncan's mouth, an old fake fur coat he wears to bed, and some kitchen skills he learned at her side. Edgar is resentful that Duncan isn't more helpful on their small farm and is shaken by observing Duncan's means of mourning his mother.

Duncan is a loner, hungry for relating, and encounters neighboring Perry (Tom Guiry, in another gripping performance), a seemingly macho kid who apparently is beaten (if not more) by his low-class father. The two bond, slowly, out of mutual needs. Perry defends Duncan's ridiculing by the local rowdy kids and even encourages Duncan to join the drinking bouts with the group. Yet Duncan remains an outsider, longing to be included, and when certain events occur with Perry (Perry urges Duncan to put on his mother's wedding dress in the secrecy of the barn and then progresses to having Duncan perform sexual acts with him, declaring all the while that he, Perry, is not gay...) only to have the incident be partially discovered by Duncan's father. At odds with what to do with his strange acting son, Edgar forces Duncan to work at meaningless jobs on the farm, help with the haying, and makes Duncan observe the burning of the mother's clothes and belongings.

Duncan seeks Perry's consolation after the above events and despite Perry's homophobic comments, Duncan manages to gain the kiss from Perry that he so desires as a resurrection of affection desperately missing in his life. Perry is further abused by his own father and participates to a degree in an incident of harassment by the local rowdies of Duncan and his pet chicken. It is the method in which this final confrontation ends that speaks so strongly about Duncan's needs and Perry's buried feelings. After the confrontation Duncan rides his bicycle home to where his father finally perceives the agony chewing Duncan's soul and the movie ends in one of the most life affirming moments ever captured on film.

The photography is magnificent, the musical score is spare and enhancing, and the acting on the part of every member of this well directed cast is superb. This is a film that deserves wide audience exposure, and especially for those young people who are struggling with their sexuality in the ugly isolation surrounding the lives of the main characters of this excellent film. Grady Harp, March 05

Great performance

[zanderxo · 7/10 · 26 February 2008]

Great performance by Emile Hirsch, who more recently appeared in 'Into the Wild'. He perfectly captures the impossible isolation, confusion, and tumult of an adolescent wrestling with his mother's sudden death, his father's stoic ineptitude, and his sexuality, all in a rural middle-of-nowhere populated by an older group of (unfortunately stereotypical) redneck teens. However, like the pet chicken, the movie seemed to die a premature death--another 20 minutes or so to add some denouement would have helped. Also, as in Brokeback Mountain, the sudden sex depicted was the Hollywood equivalent of Bruce Willis surviving a fall from a 20 story building--a normal person would have needed surgery afterwards.

A lovely film about fear, intolerance, cruelty, sensitivity and lack of communication

[ahairyrice · 9/10 · 3 August 2006]

The sensitive hero, Duncan Mudge, beautifully played by Emile Hirsch, is victimized by a society characterized above all by fear and the cruelty this fear generates. In another lovely film with a similar theme, ("Get Real"), Steven, the main character asks, "What is everyone so afraid of?" Indeed that is the question that lurks at the core of this film. The answer is, of course, that everyone is afraid of being who he/she really is, thus earning the ridicule of everyone else who is suffering from a similar fear. Duncan seeks acceptance and affection, which he cannot get from his uncommunicative father, from a neighbor boy, Perry, whose instincts are in conflict, who is only half eaten by fear. Duncan tries to reach the better other half of Perry and crashed into Perry's ambivalence and is exploited in the process. Another reviewer here has said that Duncan is stupid. Can't Duncan see what is happening, why he is treated so cruelly by his peers? Why doesn't he give up his quest to be himself and conform? Isn't that what all of us do? I am put off by the question so often raised of whether this is a "gay film," or whether Duncan and/or Perry are gay. What bothers me about that is the need to categorize, to fix a label on a person, to commodify him. This provides an escape from seeing and relating to someone else as a complex person in his own right, not someone who fits in this box or that box. This need to classify, to objectify and to control is also a product of fear. I think it was H. L. Mencken who defined Puritanism as "that haunting fear what someone, somewhere, might be different." We are still in essence puritans.

Simple But Brilliant

[duibe · 10/10 · 13 March 2003]

The Mudge Boy represents some of the finest cinema to come out of Sundance in 2003. The story moves at a leisurely pace but excels in character development and dialogue. Burke revels in his setting- a rural, emotional wasteland painted with eerily quiet, majestic landscapes which idly conflict with the title character's introversion and despair. Emile Hirsch affects a delicately nuanced, charismatic performance as the title character, struggling with the death of his beloved mother. Richard Jenkins demands every speck of attention possible while he's on screen; it's a pure delight to watch this fine actor work. I usually don't pick out smaller performances, but Zachary Knighton as the chief bully's "sidekick," Travis, is superbly threatening and commands the screen, as well. His performance is staggeringly three-dimensional and defies every cliche of "teenage bully" portrayals ever committed to celluloid. There's a big future for this guy. Overall, this film deserves to be seen by anyone who appreciates uncliched, moving drama filled with wonderful performances.

Haunting look at rural gay life and attitudes

[CamandtheCity · 9/10 · 7 July 2005]

A very brilliant movie, very powerful, with EXCELLENT and remarkable performances from the two lead boys as well as the father, as well as a very effective supporting cast, a profound script, divine direction and cinematography. Amongst all of these elements, it really surprised me and kept me guessing. I would think that it was going to go one direction, and then it would go another. It rode the thin line between painful and warm/fuzzy, with perfect balance, never becoming saccharine nor falsely-depressing.

This is one of the better gay films i have seen in some time, even if the end is a bit disturbing.

I found the movie to be very bleak and touching all at the same time, and I would say it is a highly recommended film, I could not take my eyes off of it.

It's almost good.

[Mal de Mer · 4/10 · 21 January 2003]

I saw the premiere of this movie at the Sundance film festival. It starts out as a rather intriguing character study in a beautiful agrarian setting. The audience is immediately endeared to the main character, Duncan, played excellently by Emile Hirsch. However, Duncan's vacant naivete becomes ridiculous. The film doesn't go any deeper into him than it did at the beginning. Duncan is also rather stupid. Of course, he's meant to be pure and innocent, but the concept just goes too far. Duncan is silly enough to take his dear pet chicken on a truck ride with some crazy drunk kids, and he continually goes back to them despite his acknowledgement that they're only playing with him. A search for acceptance would be a credible explanation if Duncan weren't so relentlessly stupid for the entire film. There's no enlightenment. There's no character arc. And I wouldn't suggest that an animal rights activist (like myself) should watch the ending. I won't give it away, though I almost already have. In any case, when an audience member asked the director/writer, Michael Burke, why he chose to give the film the ending it has -- which was undoubtedly the lurking question that everyone was mulling over but afraid to ask -- Burke answered, "Well, I got to the end and -- that's what happened!" Here we were all expecting some story of catharsis and liberation, and it was revealed to us that not only did the ending have no thought behind it, but the rest of the movie was thoughtless as well. The actors are great, and there are a few suspenseful scenes, and Duncan is rather lovable if you don't think much about it, but if I weren't an Emile Hirsch or Thomas Guiry fan, I'd skip it. There's nothing to learn or discover here.

It was if I was looking in a mirror

[bkbsbryan · 25 June 2004]

This film has given me the inspiration to find a writer and help me to find a way to tell a story that is so similar,that story being my life. I felt every emotion, I felt the pain and the heartache of doing anything to fit in. But my life went further starting at a very young age. I too did things with males relatives, had things done to me by neighbor boys, friends of the family, and strangers; just to be told this didn't happen, and if anyone finds out you will pay. There is so much to tell, and I am today so glad that for the first time I can look on the screen and see that there are others that have felt the loneliness, the rejection, the confusion, and the guilt, that a young boy had to endure just to fit in. Duncan isn't the only so called "freak" or "weirdo". Just to feel Duncan again I will see "MUDGE BOY" again tomorrow.

Thank you to Mr Burke for finally being so bold, all my life I sat in dark cinemas looking for that one film that would let me know I wasn't alone, these things happened to others too. Thank you again for this great piece of cinema.

Disturbing but powerful

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 20 June 2004]

A young farm boy (Emile Hirsch) is dealing with his mother's death and a father who acts like he doesn't even exist. He also begins to realize he's gay and attracted to another guy. How does he handle all this at once?

This is basically a character study--very quiet and slow but absolutely fascinating. You really get into this young boy's head and understand the pain he's going through. There are some very disturbing scenes (a rape and the ending) but they ARE necessary for the story. Also there's some beautiful photography and great performances by the entire cast.

Highly recommended but not for everyone.

The Best Ever in its Genre

[rpdux · 10/10 · 22 August 2006]

This is the best ever movie about a post-pubescent gay boy alone in his world and surrounded by straights, all of whom are older and non supportive. Not only is he without a mother, but also he has no buddy his age with whom to bond. He reaches out to a slightly older youth, but the age old conflict between straight and gay males arises, and it is dealt with by a writer-director who is able to touch a nerve and show an insight that no other film maker has ever done in this tense situation. There are no cheap shots. In deed, all are from the heart. The scenery, the filming, and the sets are gorgeous, and the acting is sterling to a man.

One of the most emotional movies I've ever seen...

[waynermasters · 10/10 · 4 July 2010]

Having grown up in New York State, my "coming of age" and "out of the closet" was quite an experience. While my experience wasn't necessarily an easy one, after seeing this movie, it angers me to think that there are other gay men (and women) who are (or have) had to endure the pain, bigotry and humiliation that the main character did. This movie gave me a completely new perspective on how society has been a complete and utter failure to so many people. I wish I had the resources to help out everyone in need who is going through what "Duncan" is/has gone through. Life wasn't meant to be so painful, lonely and empty - and after watching this flick, I have no idea how the "Heartland" got its name... These so called "Church going" bigots and "good old boys" are more of an abomination than any of the worst sins that I can think of, and some day these bottom feeders will face their maker, for the hell they put so many innocent people through.

Truly a heartbreaking film that will open your eyes, and one that you will never forget.

Good but too quick

[rakitwhore007 · 9/10 · 3 March 2005]

The start of the movie you meet Duncan who is a very strange boy. He sticks Chickens heads in his mouth to calm them down, and it looks very strange. Duncan is someone you would think does not have many friends, and as the movie develops you realize that he doesn't. He is "friends" with a boy who is about 5 years older than he is. Ducan is strange very strange, and Perry understands that and tries to bring Duncan from the "edge". The movie culminates with Perry,who is very confused,raping Duncan, and Duncan's father walking in after Perry finishes. A couple of days after the incident Duncan goes to meet Perry late at night to talk. The watcher does not know if he wants to talk about what happened or if Duncan is truly attracted to Perry. The climb into a beat up old truck where after Perry naturally tells Duncan that they cannot be friends anymore, because what they did was Queer, and he ain't no queer. Duncan says that he hasn't told anyone, why couldn't they be friends. Perry tells him that it is queer, and then kisses him, screaming is that what you want? Duncan says no, and then kisses him a lot more tenderly than Perry did to him, and Perry lets it go, but then pushes him off him, and leaves. The next day, Duncan is at the local shop buying a soda, and he walks outside to find "chicken" which is his pet rooster. He finds out that Perry and his friends have taken it. They start to play keep away and Perry grabs it and acts like he is going to break the neck,but he gives it back to Duncan and tells him to go, show them how is mom, who is dead, taught him how to suck dick. So he "calms" the chicken, but instead of letting him out of his mouth bites his head off. Then the movie cuts to Duncan walking home and his father seeing the chicken and knowing that something is wrong. He grabs Duncan as he is crying and just hugs him and won't let go.

This movie was really good, but the story that developed was over too quickly. It leaves the viewer feeling like nothing was resolved. Duncan is still weird, and friendless, and Perry who raped him never got anything that he possibly deserved. It just kinda ended. This was the only downside of the movie. I would watch it again, definitely.

Not for the faint hearted

[adamjohns-42575 · 3/10 · 14 July 2020]

When did films stop having a beginning, middle and end? This one seemed to be all beginning and not much else. I want to see what happened next. So much is still unresolved. I just hope he doesn't bite off the head of another chicken in any follow ups. The neck snapping at the beginning was bad enough, but when he chewed the chickens decapitated head I nearly threw up.

The story actually had potential and the acting is good, although the Boy in question is very weird. However it is just missing something to make it a good film. Also, I'm not sure why it's rated "R"? I thought that meant it was really dirty or full of nasty things? I would like to have seen his relationship with Perry properly develop and get a bit down and jiggy with it to make it a proper "R" film, but finding happiness and lasting gay romance seems to be passé these days?

If you are going to watch it, keep a bucket handy.

The Failure of Masculinity

[thomasdosborneii · 27 July 2003]

`The Mudge Boy' is a tragic film about the failure of masculinity. Masculinity, at its most advanced, mature, and evolved is a protector of women, a mentor to children, a caretaker of animals, and a steward of the environment. We do not get to see this mature masculinity very often and its very rarity has led so many to believe that the only form of masculinity is its degraded form of tyranny, irresponsibility, violence, and mindless cruelty.

This film is close in genre to a prison movie or film noir. Its males, except for young Duncan, the Mudge boy himself, are all so degraded that they are fermenting in their toxic wastes and are unable to produce any positive energy even if only just to get the hell out of there. Their isolation cells are not made of steel bars, but of the wood of dense Vermont forests and the walls are not made of stone bricks, but of rolling green hills covered in pasture. Their prison is made of insularity and ignorance. The film is so relentlessly dark and uncomfortable to watch with its atmosphere of ever-existing potential and erupting violence, and with any hope of redemption wrung at the neck, that I think of this as a new genre, "rural' film noir, instead of urban, and something that should be categorized alongside a movie like `Deliverance'.

Femininity, with its life-giving fecundity, fares only slightly better in this film with at least one female having enough compassion to not only extend tenderness to someone weaker, but also attempt to protect herself from physical exploitation. But even she is ultimately helpless and alone in the face of relentlessly rampant violent and unrestrained male energy to which women are only as useful for copulation as animals are for the extraction of eggs and milk. The Mudge boy's mother, too, who in her absence seemed to leave her husband empty of all reason to live, had only herself been sucked dry of her life blood and left to die with an empty heart. The illusion of escape afforded by alcoholism was not enough to protect her with her basketful of tender eggs from the same fate of her beloved and memorialized chickens. How much better will her son fare?

So much of the Mudge boy's mother lived on in her son, but so did so much of his father, who was unable to communicate the needs of his heart and thus left his son alone with this rejection of their mutual need for tenderness. Although this film is presented as a gay film, and even won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, this is much more a father and son film, and a story about how ultimately lost masculinity can be without fully developed and receptive hearts.

In this film's setting, the gentle, caring heart of the Mudge boy could be considered feminine and weak by those who confuse such qualities with the homosexual, but I think the boy's desire was only for tenderness and understanding, as was his father's desire. And in this involuted, backward setting, rather than that being enough for the men to earn what they wanted, what was required was for the Mudge boy to finally sink to a level so low as to chew off the very portion of himself that yearned for and needed such love. In the swallowing of what was precious in him, he was finally able to attract what he had wanted. But I wonder if by then, it was already too late to matter.

An extended version of an earlier work by the same director

[queernudist · 9/10 · 12 September 2015]

This is Michael Burke's second filmed version of a story that was originally released in 1998 in short form as "Fishbelly White." The short film can be viewed on the compilation DVD BOYS LIFE 5. Both versions have merit, however "The Mudge Boy," being feature length, allows for better character development, particularly of characters that are merely hinted at in "Fishbelly White," which Burke wrote, produced and directed as a film student at New York University, financed by grants. Although I found "The Mudge Boy" to be a more in-depth character study with more room for details, its predecessor is to be admired for its brevity in telling the same tale effectively. In short, I cannot effectively say I enjoy one version over the other!

Interesting

[Waleno-864-559832 · 8/10 · 4 November 2011]

I don't write a lot of reviews, but every once and a while a film will get stuck in my head, and writing about it is the only thing that seems to dislodge it from my daily thoughts. I really liked this film even though I found it disturbing, and hard to watch. Sometimes things are a little to real. This may be a fictional story, but it is something that could be, and that makes all the difference in an age of media that can produce anything.

My worry for the main character,Duncan Mudge (played by Emile Hirsch),was palpable through the whole film. His interaction with Perry Foley (played by Tom Guiry) was tense and destined for disaster from the beginning. Both actors played great roles, but Hirsch's portrayal of Mudge was done especially well. It reminds me of DiCaprio's portrayal of Arnie Grape. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head to compare it to. A lot of people play misfits convincingly, but occasionally you will find a character like Duncan who really sticks out.

I cannot give the credit entirely to the actors in this film. It would not be fair to ignore the writing and directing that the characters are dependent on for their existence. Michael Burke obviously had a vision in his head that he was able to carry from the writing to the screen as both the writer and director. He did a wonderful job creating a movie that made me uncomfortable as hell from beginning to end.

Believe me, see this movie, u'ill never forget it

[moldbody · 8/10 · 18 June 2008]

Look around us, you will find many persons from this movie, you will find yourself. When we lose something somebody, we really need a hug a talk,whatever anything. When we are lonely, we also need to pursue something, to release ourselves.It's not about living in the village or big city, it's just different way to show a kind of period in our life. In this movie, the director built a small society for us, and we always follow the kid Dunkan, we become him, from his eyes feel his feeling, look for what we need.No happy thing happened during this movie, there are several happy moments, we can feel them from Dunkan's eyes, but they're killed by the following affairs. It's like in our life there is a period, bad period, we know finally we will walk out, but we have to face it, no other choice, the director showed this period for us, nothing bored, nothing retarded,except swallowing the chicken head, oh, man, it really cannot make me calm down, I know there is something will happen with this chicken, 'cause Dunkan has to give up his relying, but at the last moment, when he do it, I'm still shocked,the actors played so good, so natural.

There are so many shitty, commercial movies today, but the Mudge boy, it's impressive, didn't waste my time.

Sad, real, perfectly acted and filmed

[OrlandoAT · 9/10 · 21 November 2014]

Simply, this film is a little known gem of LGBT cinema. The performances are sublime: Emile Hirsch and Tom Guiry playing their roles as realistically and movingly (with the specific characteristics of their role) who manage to make this film an emotional journey that will get more than one reflect on the plight which still face many gay guys around the world. This reflection is another strong point of the film: the rawness that emulates perfectly fine as reality, gives great value to the script and the direction. The photography is excellent, beautiful. But forget about production resources. The script, Duncan's story is a case that can even be a real case of our neighbor. Very well filmed, with a poignant script and first-rate performances, this film is highly recommended as vindicating the LGBT genre.

Hugely overrated

[noelcox · 4/10 · 7 July 2018]

I am astounded at the fawning praise this insubstantial movie has garnered. It was apparently an "expansion" of a short film made by the director some years earlier; all I can say is that he can't have added much plot, character development or action, for this film has little if any of those things.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy nicely crafted films which explore the human condition, but this isn't one of those. Nothing of much substance happens.

It may have been an excellent short movie; it should have stayed one.

An unusual boy

[Chris Knipp · 20 July 2004]

The Mudge Boy is about teenage sexuality in a rural setting. It reeks of Inde: the opening shots of somebody chased off a road even seem clipped from The Station Agent. However, its mix of B horror movie baddies and sensitive mama's boy, if never resolved, still is different from either set of formulas. A fine performance by Emile Hirsh as the `boy,' Duncan Mudge, is sufficient reason to watch this movie and make it stick in the mind. It's a neat trick Hirsh carries off to make his character come across as weird, but also nice, nice looking, and sociable. The young actor has a quality River Phoenix also notably had of being able to seem two places at once and uncomfortable (but smooth) at both – ingratiating, yet disgusted; or humiliated, yet pleased. It's quite a complex and able performance and one hopes it heralds more good things to come from Hirsh, who also starred in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.

Duncan, who's about sixteen, misses his recently deceased mom, to whom he was unusually close. He shows their closeness now by liking to wear her clothes on the sly at home. Duncan tends the chickens while his father does the heavier farm work alone. The boy goes everywhere with his mom's favorite white chicken, which he calms by putting its head in his mouth (now that's what I call acting!). Is he gay or is he just an unusual boy? He hasn't developed quite enough for there to be a definitive anwer to that question by the end of this pleasingly quirky film. The Mudge Boy isn't about that well-worked theme, coming of age, but about trying to remain oneself. It's certain that Duncan isn't your standard husky farm boy.

The bunch of young heavy metal guys (with gals) in their pickup truck, who approach periodically with B-movie menace, aren't all so macho themselves. One is pretty and longhaired. Another one, Perry (Tom Guiry), Duncan is kind of sweet on and Perry, who talks so dirty and goes after the girls, still by silent consent is Duncan's best buddy. The experienced child actor Guiry (who was Brendan Harris in Mystic River) strikes a neat balance between macho strutting (which involves some extremely blunt, graphic sexual language even by current standards) and an insecurity that makes sense when we learn his dad is abusive. Duncan's own dad is shut down but also needy in the absence of his wife and affectionate enough toward his son to disapprove but marginally tolerate his peculiarities.

Though The Mudge Boy may wind up being classified as some kind of gay coming of age movie, this isn't an environment in which a "coming out" process is possible or even desirable. First of all Duncan may be odd but never seems innocent. Nothing about Perry surprises him and he seems to have no awakening to come to or audience to share it with. If he's gay, which isn't quite a sure thing yet, who is he going to dramatically come out to? Perry knows Duncan's proclivities and exploits them in a brutal `loss of virginity' sequence, but maybe Duncan is just special. It's the movie's ambiguity that makes it unique -- though some scenes, such as Duncan's off-key solo at church, are too clumsy and indeterminate to make sense.

The trouble is that the movie never seems to know too well where it's going and its pacing drowns in rural torpor. The stakes aren't defined: it's never clear if it's Duncan himself who's in danger or just his pet chicken, and the writing doesn't provide enough of a progression toward anything other than the consensual rape scene and a final moment of tenderness between father and son. When Duncan tells Perry in front of the other truck crew `I'm not a faggot!,' is that just because the word is derogatory or is he really not gay and aware of that? Nothing has been resolved, but we've been taken to an interesting, uncommon place.

Mudge Boy and Fishbelly WHite

[greekwise · 9/10 · 19 May 2006]

I just watched "Fishbelly White" about two weeks after I first saw "The Mudge Boy." I was surprised to see that "Fishbelly" is a shorter, earlier version of "Mudge Boy" (kinda like "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade" and "Sling Blade"); some scenes are almost identical, but the shorter version is, of course, less fleshed-out and less detailed. For example, neither boy's father plays any significant role.

Unlike the shorter "Sling Blade," though, "Fishbelly" does tell the whole story.

I think Emile Hirsch in "Mudge" made a better "Chicken Boy" than Jason Hayes in "Fishbelly", but just because he's less "geeky" and therefore, to me, more heartbreaking in the end. "Mudge Boy" is all the more tragic because Duncan at first thinks he's been accepted by the other, older kids.

_________________________________________

As for "Mudge Boy" being about Duncan's gay issues, I think that's wishful thinking and way off the mark. As far as we can tell, Duncan's most meaningful relationship---emotional as well as physical--- has been with a chicken. It would not be unusual for ANY adolescent who is so alienated to want to touch or kiss any person, regardless of sex. I don't think this is a "gay" film, as so many people have categorized it.

Interestingly, I used to work with an emotionally starved 15-year-old boy from Vermont (location of this film) who loved his chicken Robert; we'll call the boy Tom. The other boys in the program mocked Tom, because Robert seemed to be his best friend. However, Robert's head never ended up in Tom's mouth (as far as I know).