BOYS

"BOYS"
(1996) (Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Minor	Moderate	Minor	Minor

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Minor	None	Moderate

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Mild	Mild	Mild	Mild

QUICK TAKE:: A disillusioned student finds and harbors a woman with a mysterious secret.

PLOT:: John Baker, Jr. (Lukas Haas) is a disillusioned student at Sherwood School, an exclusive boys school. One day several students discover the unconscious Patty Vare (Winona Ryder) who has been thrown from a horse. John is immediately drawn to her, and hides Patty is his room. She doesn't want to see a doctor or the police and soon has flashbacks of an event that involves a stolen car, a missing baseball player, Bud Valentine, and a cop who thinks Patty knows something about that. In the meantime, she and John fall in love and must deal with her troubled past and his parents who want him to be a model student.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Maybe. It's a story of teen angst and stars Winona Ryder who is a draw for the teen set. Word will probably get out, though, about the slow pace and boring plot.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: LUKAS HAAS plays a teen student who's looking for some excitement in his life and is willing to give up school for it.
WINONA RYDER plays a mysterious woman with a past filled with partying and men.; WINONA RYDER plays a mysterious woman with a past filled with partying and men.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: One of John’s buddies appears to be inhaling pot.
People drink beers in a bar while Patty is having a mixed drink.
Valentine and Patty leave the bar drunk and drive away.
At a fair, John gets beers for himself and Patty and is caught by a police officer who just gives him a warning about underage drinking.

BLOOD/GORE: John reads a writing class project that includes descriptions of a beheaded spouse and lots of blood.
A little blood is seen on the hand of a student who just punched a wall.
There is a little blood on the head of a driver who's just been in a car accident.
A dead body is pulled from a car after it's pulled out of a pond.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: John says he's going to skip school the next day since his teacher reprimanded him for being late ("better to get a zero by not being there than to get one for being late").
John "borrows" the school car on several occasions to drive himself and his friends around.
By taking her to his room, John, in a way, "kidnaps" Patty who doesn't know where she is.
John says "I hate it here" four times in a row (referring to his school).
A woman refers to a police officer as "that fat head cop."
Valentine steals a car while Patty does not object to the theft.
John "friends" turn against him merely because he doesn't tell them anything about Patty.
John drops out of school, preferring to be with Patty instead.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: A car crashes into a small pond and goes underwater. Patty makes it out but the driver doesn't.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Guns are worn by the police officers.
Knife: Used by Valentine to break into a car.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Shut up," "Bitch," and "Something up that guy’s butt."
Drunk driving.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): Just one scene where a car has plunged into a small pond and Patty has to escape the car after it's gone under.

PROFANITY: 1 "f" word, 6 "s" words, 11 hells, 4 "ass" words, 2 damns, and 10 uses of "God damn it," 5 of "Jesus," 2 of "God," and 1 of "Christ’s Sake" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: One of the younger students tells John (sensing John’s growing interest in Patty), "...nothing compared to that boner in your pants."
John takes Patty’s shirt off (it's wet and she’s not feeling well) and she’s seen in her bra.
Moments later, she gets too hot and takes her shirt off and is again seen in her bra.
Commenting on John’s writing assignment, Patty says she likes the part with the three prostitutes in a tub.
John lies on top of Patty kissing her while she moans a bit.
It’s implied that they had sex: The next morning when she hears someone coming, Patty quickly pulls on her pants.
There is an ever-so-brief shot of Patty’s bare butt as she pulls on her pants.

SMOKING: John’s school buddies are often seen smoking.
A policeman smokes.
Some of Patty’s friends smoke at a local fair.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Moving what could be a seriously injured person and thus injuring them more (The boys carry the limp and injured Patty who has been thrown from a horse).
There is a brief mention of a girl who committed suicide the year before.
Drunk driving and accidents.
Staying in school versus following a romance.

VIOLENCE: John forcibly removes one of the younger students from his room and pushes him up against a wall.
A student tells another, "I'll punch your face in."
In anger, one of John’s friends punches his hand into a wall.
John’s father smacks him.
After his classmates taunt him, John first turns and kicks one of their desks and then grabs one of the students and throws him to the floor.

Reviewed May 10, 1996

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