The Boys Are Back

A chic flick for guys
The essence of THE BOYS ARE BACK is "fatherhood", i.e. what it means to be a Dad. It's an absolutely lovely film absolutely worth seeing.

Joe Warr (Clive Owen) suddenly finds himself a single father when his young wife Katy (Laura Fraser) precipitously dies of intestinal cancer. Joe, the lead and oft-on-the-road sportswriter for Melbourne's major newspaper, must now connect with his six-year old son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). Coming to visit from England is his 14-year old son from a previous marriage, Harry (George MacKay), whom Joe pretty much abandoned to his first wife years before on their divorce.

THE BOYS ARE BACK is about male bonding - father with motherless son, father with fatherless son, brother with half-brother. In this clubhouse, the women, whether it be Joe's mother-in-law Barbara (Julia Blake) or potential new significant-other Laura (Emma Booth), are almost intruders.

Filmed mostly on Australia's striking south coast and with a...

Sadly under-rated
This is a great little movie, sadly under-rated, with wonderful performances by all cast members. I know many reviews have praised young Nicholas McAnulty and, yes, Nicholas is brilliant - especially when you remember that he is an inexperienced 6 year old! On the other hand I felt that George Mackay, as the older brother Harry, stole the show! Absolutely wonderful performance by this young man with a great acting future ahead of him, I'm sure!

I may be a little prejudiced when it comes to this movie since I'm a HUGE Clive Owen fan and, because it was filmed where I live, I was fortunate enough to be a part of it - albeit as an extra but what a wonderful experience!

In a world of mix 'n' match families, this is a must see movie! As for the South Australian location - well that is a bonus!

Enjoy!

Clive Owens Goes Hallmark
If Clive Owens accepted the role of Joe Warr (based on the autobiography of Simon Carr) as an attempt to break away from his type casting as a blood and thunder action hero, he at least proved that he is able to step beyond his usual screen presence. Though the story of a happily married sports writer to a beautiful young second wife Katy (Laura Fraser), enjoying their one child Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), who abruptly becomes a single parent when Katy dies from metastatic carcinoma, placing him in the uncomfortable position of becoming a single parent, is not unique among the tearful novels that have also made their way to the screen, this film survives on the quality of the cast. Not only does Joe have to overcome the treacherous terrain of tending to housekeeping along with the tenuous gap that occurs when a parent dies and the remaining parent must tend to the grief of the remaining child, but he also must cope with the young Harry (George McKay), his son by his first marriage in...

Click to Editorial Reviews