There are many good, in some cases excellent, movies about the AIDS crisis, including recent films like The Normal Heart and Angels in America, and earlier work such as And the Band Played On. House of Boys is not one of the good ones. Another reviewer suggested anyone disliking this movie must be a homophobe. To the contrary, anyone who thinks this qualifies as a good gay-themed movie must have a fairly low opinion of what a well done gay-themed movie can be. Admittedly there has become some degree of fatigue for gay films that trade off the AIDS crisis, but again, referencing the two recent films mentioned above, when done well they are still well-received.In this film there were too many terribly clichéd personalities. ranging from the world-weary aging "madame" of the House of Boys, to the straight woman rescued by said madame, to the somewhat mysterious wealthy American customer, to the assortment of boys working in the club and of course, to the film's very own Little Nell, the wide-eyed naïf, Justin … and nearly all of them with his or her own unsuitable or overdone accent. With all this heavy traffic distracting us, it was impossible for us to develop any emotional attachment to any individual, least of all the annoying Justin. In fact, most of the characters' development depended more on our familiarity with their recognizable cliché than anything revealed in the story-line.At times it seemed like a Dickensian soap opera, heavily over-dramatic and replete with all the trappings, including someone in the snow-covered street singing like an urchin beggar from Scrooge or Nicholas Nickelby. Unlike something written by Dickens, however, none of the characters in this story was very well developed nor did they engender much empathy or sympathy. The actor playing Justin was a poor choice. He lacked talent, charisma or the sort of good looks that might have made us feel some emotional attachment to him. Most of the other actors were fairly good, but the whole enterprise just never came together. Towards the end, when the tears are flowing on screen, I doubt many were shed by anyone watching the movie. And the subject at hand really should produce tears with little effort. I guess it's a matter of distinction that this movie managed to render the whole HIV crisis as well as the death & love loss experienced by its lead characters, as something banal.There are far better choices for moving, emotionally-draining and inspiring tales from this period in the gay community. You can give this one a miss.

Unlike some other reviewers, I watch movies for the quality of the entertainment, not for the quality of the preaching. If I want to learn about AIDS, about the history or symptoms or progression or politics of the disease, I'll look it up - I won't watch a movie. I watch movies ONLY to be entertained, never to be educated.The big problem with this movie is that it's stupid, boring and totally, totally unbelievable. It starts out like a farce, with cartoon good kids and cartoon bullies and cartoon bad parents all interacting frenetically; and the thirtysomething high school kid pumping his thing behind his unlocked door right when Mom and Dad and Little Sis noisily come home - but does he hear them before they barge in and catch him full-handed? Of course not! Or even like a high school musical (the painfully contrived, amateur Fame-esque dance that bursts out of nowhere on the high school steps as the opening credits roll?) Or God only knows what - except that it turns into a maudlin, preachy, soapy tragedy long before the end.This is a TERRIBLE movie, in which Luxembourgers talk like Cockneys and the Dutch talk like Americans and everybody always looks like they just stepped out of the shower... and it's all just a crazy, mixed-up, phony mess that's as annoying as gnats swarming around your face. I hated it.

"House of Boys" is a somewhat deceptive film. At first glance, it looks like a low-budget movie that has nothing to offer except sex, drugs and wild partying set in the 80's. The promotional poster doesn't help to contradict this idea and I personally think it doesn't do the movie justice. The film is divided in three acts. Sure enough, the first is mainly about the things mentioned above. The second act develops the relationship between Frank and Jake where it blossoms from friendship to romantic love. The third act deals with AIDS as Jake is diagnosed with the disease and not only him but the people around him try to come to terms with his inevitable death. I found myself caring for all the characters. I felt sorry for Frank when his love was one sided, then cheered happily when Jake started to reciprocate his feelings and even made the first move. After Jake falls ill and then dies, I mourned with Frank. It's touching to see how Frank stays by Jake's side through the whole ordeal and even gives up his lucrative job at the House of Boys where he was being courted as the "next hot guy". I need to mention the supporting characters, Dean, Angelo (or should I say Angela) and Emma. They were true friends and a real family to each other.In regards to acting, I thought that Layke Anderson and Benn Northover were very good and had great chemistry together. In fact, I came to respect all the actors for their courage in being part of this film. I've been interested in LGBT films for a long time and I've seen quite a few of them now. I've enjoyed this film much more than others which were far more successful with critics and audiences alike (Brokeback Mountain for example). It's all a matter of personal taste, I guess.

I saw this nice little movie in Luxembourg one week or so after it's premier here. Basically it's a story of two teenage boys who leave home for different reasons and meet up within a Gay show club in Amsterdam. After falling in love, one ends up sick with AIDS. Stephen Fry plays a sympathetic doctor but basically helpless with the knowledge of the disease back in the 80s. All the cast act great. I was impressed. Apart from a few short porno scenes, it is a neat little gay drama with some nice music and film direction. There are also some scenes filmed in Luxembourg and Morocco.If the movie doesn't come to your town, buy it on DVD when released!