Honey Boy (2019)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 41 nominations
Honey Boy serves as an act of cinematic therapy for its screenwriter and subject — one whose unique perspective should strike a chord in audiences from all backgrounds.
Honey Boy is like a rollercoaster ride of emotions, but instead of screaming in terror, you’ll be crying your eyes out. It’s a heart-wrenching portrayal of a father-son relationship that will leave you feeling both devastated and hopeful. Shia LaBeouf’s raw and unfiltered voice shines through in this deeply personal film, and the performances from all the actors are nothing short of remarkable. It’s a movie that will stay with you long after the credits roll, and a reminder that sometimes the most painful stories are the ones that need to be told.
Production Company(ies)
Amazon Studios, Stay Gold Features, Kindred Spirit
Distributor
Amazon Studios
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
The Pink Motel & Cadillac Jack’s Diner, 9457 San Fernando Road, Sun Valley, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual material and drug use
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 2019 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 5, 2020
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Honey Boy, Shia LaBeouf, directed by Alma Har’el, written by Shia LaBeouf, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Chris Stuckmann, David Stratton, Wenlei Ma, Paul Byrnes, Donald Clarke, Brian Eggert, Taylor Baker, Cate Young, Nikki Baughan, produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Anita Gou, Chris Leggett, Alma Har’el, R MPAA rating, abusive father, alcoholic father, television star, Otis, Lucas Hedges, Otis (22), Noah Jupe, Otis (12), Byron Bowers, Percy, Laura San Giacomo, Dr Moreno, FKA Twigs, Shy Girl, dysfunctional relationship, inherited trauma, therapy, autobiographical, redemption arc, child stardom, substance abuse, father-son relationship, coming-of-age, addiction, rehab, Dolby Atmos, Scope (2.35:1), Amazon Studios
Worldwide gross: $3,400,977
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,929,674
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,238
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 428,536
US/Canada gross: $3,012,615
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,480,940
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,910
US/Canada opening weekend: $301,065
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $347,867
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,490
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Lucas Hedges – Otis (22)
Noah Jupe – Otis (12)
Byron Bowers – Percy
Laura San Giacomo – Dr. Moreno
FKA Twigs – Shy Girl
Director(s)
Alma Har’el
Writer(s)
Shia LaBeouf
Producer(s)
Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Anita Gou, Chris Leggett, Alma Har’el
Film Festivals
Sundance, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 41 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (238) | Top Critics (65) | Fresh (225) | Rotten (13)
Sometimes painful to watch, but it is also a moving depiction of a man’s struggles to understand and perhaps forgive.
October 4, 2021
Nell Minow
AWFJ Women on Film
TOP CRITIC
The movie feels very raw. LaBeouf’s voice is very unfiltered through this movie… You can tell that he’s working through things as he writes the movie.
June 17, 2020 | Rating: B
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
…a very personal and painful statement from LaBeouf and it’s to Har’el’s credit that she gives it some context and focus, as well as extracting wonderful performances from all the actors…
March 3, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Honey Boy, despite its heavy subject, is a deeply empathetic and generous drama that strikes at the heart of complex parent-child relationships and inherited trauma.
February 28, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Wenlei Ma
News.com.au
TOP CRITIC
A movie that could easily have crashed and burned. That it does not has something to do with the shared intensity of character and performance. All three main actors share the stage as equals and the level of commitment is remarkable.
February 26, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
It works as therapy. It works as an acting showcase. But the dips and flips we demand from narrative art are missing throughout.
December 11, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
By the final frames of Honey Boy, it becomes achingly apparent that the film is at once a work of auto-fiction and confessional.
February 22, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Episode 53: Honey Boy / Earthquake Bird / Ford v Ferrari
December 1, 2021 | Rating: 60/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
There’s nothing better in Hollywood than a redemption arc, and LaBeouf gave us one. But a redemption arc only works if you stay redeemed, and Shia did not.
November 5, 2021
Cate Young
Thirty, Flirty + Film
A surprising, moving portrait of a father and son relationship.
October 4, 2021
Cate Marquis
AWFJ Women on Film
Honey Boy is a searing, intimate exploration of the devastation that can be wrought by dysfunctional relationships.
October 4, 2021
Nikki Baughan
AWFJ Women on Film
Har’el elicits deeply felt performances from her stars, and you’ll come away from the film with renewed empathy and respect for an actor who had been dismissed by many as a punchline.
October 4, 2021
Betsy Bozdech
AWFJ Women on Film…
Plot
From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon. Artist and musician FKA Twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbor and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in their garden-court motel home. Har’el’s feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as medicine and imagination as hope.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Shia LaBeouf wrote the screenplay for Honey Boy while in rehab, and also plays the role of his own father in the film.
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