Honey Boy (2019)

One of the most polarizing and notorious actors to come from the Disney Channel has been none other than Shia LaBeouf (The Peanut Butter Falcon) who has proven that when he is on point in his acting that there is no one like him. He started out on Disney on the show Even Stevens before landing the dream role in Transformers which led to more fame. That in turn led to him having some trouble in his past that brings him to this very point in 2019 when Amazon released the biographical film Honey Boy which was written by LaBeouf and directed by Alma Har'el (Bombay Beach). The film follows child actor Otis Lort (Noah Jupe) as he tries to navigate through a stormy time in his childhood that leads to his ultimate destruction as an adult. This in turn leads him to have to face up to his past while he spends some time reflecting in rehab. The film also stars Lucas Hedges (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Adult Otis, LaBeouf as James Lort, Byron Bowers (Loiter Squad) as Percy,  Laura San Giacomo (Sex, Lies, and Videotape) as Dr. Moreno, FKA Twigs as Shy Girl, Natasha Lyonne (American Pie) as Mom, Maika Monroe (It Follows) as Sandra, Clifton Collins Jr. (One Eight Seven) as Tom, Martin Starr (Knocked Up) as Alec, and Graham Clarke (Lucifer) as TV Dad.

After watching the film, it's definitely easy to see all of the factors that went in to making Shia who he became. Shia did such an amazing job in the film, but if you think about it how much work did he have to do to get into the role of his father. The one thing that I can say is that mentally it must have been hard to do because it would bring back so many memories, but at the same time it has to be therapeutic to let it all go. Shia is an underrated actor in Hollywood and when he puts his mind to it, he does amazing things. My favorite film of his in 2019 was The Peanut Butter Falcon, but this one is definitely right up there. While I have to give Lucas Hedges credit for the role and the amazing job he did playing the rotten child star all grown up, but how do you go from being a brunette to a red head in adulthood? That part was a little bit confusing for me and what was the deal with the same chicken over the course of the film other than the fact it was a wild and un-tamable creature like himself. If you are a fan of Shia LaBeouf and you want to know a little of what he was dealing with as a kid then definitely give this film a watch. I loved the grittiness of the cinematography because it kind of had that documentary look to it while being melancholic in look as well. With that being said, I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.