REVIEW: THE BOYS ARE BACK
 | | |
THE BOYS ARE BACK (12A) is the charming tale of an immature father's efforts to bring up his sons following the death of his wife.
Based on Simon Carr's acclaimed book of the same name, it tells the story of loving dad Joe Warr's attempts to bond with his boys through a "Just Say Yes" policy.
Basically, that means the three of them do whatever they want at their idyllic-house-come-disgusting-pigsty in rural Australia.
Out goes the rulebook and fun - often quite dangerous fun - is put at the centre of his relationship with his five-year-old son and his teenage bother.
It's heart-warming stuff, but there is a definite element of car crash TV in it.
Children soaring through trees on a zip line, riding on the bonnet of a car and jumping from a window ledge into the bathtub is strangely liberating yet excruciatingly painful to watch, and you are worried the policy will result in producing a couple of horrifically spoilt brats.
Needless to say things do go wrong, but it does raise some important questions about parenting, and, perhaps, society in general.
Are there too many rules? Have we gone too far down the health and safety route? And is there now a culture of saying "no" before we've even properly thought about the question?
For a true story, there are some unrealistic bits but Clive Owen is excellent as the errant dad ploughing his own path through parenthood despite the disapproving looks of society.
Maybe we could all learn something from him - but hopefully not too much. - ROB BLEANEY
|
|
|
|
|
|