''Boy Culture'' is a 2006 American romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Q. Allan Brocka, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by

Matthew Rettenmund Matthew Rettenmund (born December 25, 1968) is a Michigan-born editor, founder of ''Popstar!'' magazine and blog Boyculture.com, as well author of different books, including 1995 works, ''Encyclopedia Madonnica'' which debuted with solid reviews ...

. The film stars Derek Magyar, Darryl Stephens,

Patrick Bauchau Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau (born 6 December 1938) is a Belgian actor best known for his roles in the films ''A View to a Kill'', '' The Rapture'' and '' Panic Room'', as well as the TV shows '' The Pretender'' and ''House''. ...

, Jonathon Trent, and Emily Brooke Hands.

Plot

A successful escort describes in a series of confessions his entangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic client. The story remains the same as the novel, about a man who goes by only the letter "X" to maintain his anonymity and relationships between his two roommates—one of whom he's in love with—and an enigmatic older client who challenges him to find his heart before he will consent to sex. The film's differences from the novel include Andrew's character (now an African-American) and the location of the story in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, instead of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Cast

* Derek Magyar as Alex "X" * Darryl Stephens as Andrew *

as Gregory Talbot ** Chris Bethards as young Gregory * Jonathon Trent as Joey * Emily Brooke Hands as Lucy * George Jonson as Blondie * Kyle Santler as Scooter * Matt Riedy as Frank * Clifford Harrington as Renaldo ** Joshua Boswell as young Renaldo * Peyton Hinson as Jill * Demene Hall as Zelma *

William Hall, Jr. William Hall Jr. (October 3, 1946 – February 14, 2025) was an American actor who started his career in the early 1970s. Hall Jr. died on February 14, 2025, at the age of 78. Appearances *(2012) ''Safety Not Guaranteed'' *(2002) ''Farewell to ...

as Oren * Molly Manago as Cheyenne * Laprell Nelson as Matthew * Q. Allan Brocka as Bruce Lee

Production

''Boy Culture'' is based on a novel, with a few important differences found between the two. It was decided in the film to set it in Seattle rather than Chicago, and to make substantial differences to the character of Andrew, including his ethnicity. The film is also noted for the careful eye of the director, who managed to turn what was an 18-day production cycle into a fully realized film.

Soundtrack

Release

The film made its

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

in the United Kingdom at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (since renamed BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival), on April 1, 2006, and made its debut in the United States at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

on April 26, 2006. It subsequently received a very limited theatrical release in the United States on March 23, 2007. ;Film festival circuit ''Boy Culture'' was shown at the following film festivals: * 2006 London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival - April 1, 2006 * 2006 Tribeca Film Festival - April 26, 2006 * 2006 Seattle Film Festival - May 25, 2006 * 2006 Atlantic Film Festival - September 15, 2006 * 2006 Verzaubert Queer Film Festival - November 14, 2006 * 2006 Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival - November 19, 2006 * 2007 Cleveland International Film Festival - March 16, 2007 * 2007 Philly Film Festival - April 6, 2007 * 2007 Mostra Internacional de Cinema Gay i Lèsbic de Barcelona - July 7, 2007

Reception

Critical response

''Boy Culture'' currently holds a 71% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 31 reviews; the consensus states: "Eloquent one-liners and quick pacing make ''Boy Culture'' sharper than the typical gay indie flick." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, based on 12 critics, the film has a 56/100 rating, signifying "mixed or average" reviews. Maitland McDonagh from ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote, "Shrewder than you'd think and not half as dumb as it looks." Jeannette Catsoulis from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "A slick and absorbing drama." Ronnie Scheib from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "A strong cast, formal visual style and cynical voiceover that propels the action help elevate this Seattle-set gay romp from the ranks of the stereotypical."

Awards

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on August 14, 2007, courtesy of

TLA TLA may refer to: Organisations * Tennessee Library Association, a professional organization for librarians in Tennessee * Texas Library Association, a professional organization for librarians in Texas * Tour de las Américas, a professional golf ...

Video. The release includes an

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

from writer/director Q. Allan Brocka and writing partner Philip Pierce, interviews with Brocka and the four stars,

deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread, and can al ...

s, premiere footage from the

and the film's trailer.

''Boy Culture: Generation X''

In 2017, a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign was launched for ''Boy Culture: The Series.'' An episodic sequel to the original film, it originally starred Matthew Wilkas (X), Darryl Stephens (Andrew), Matthew Crawford (Chayce), as well as

Stephen Guarino Stephen Guarino (born November 14, 1975) is an American actor and comedian, known as Sully Patterson on the Jim Carrey-produced Showtime series '' I'm Dying Up Here'' (2017–2018) and for his recurring role as Derrick in the ABC comedy series ...

and singer

Steve Grand Steve Grand (born February 28, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and model from Lemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He became an overnight internet celebrity and the music video of his first hit "All-American Boy" went viral video, viral ...

. The campaign met its funding goal and the series was filmed in August 2018. It was later announced that Derek Magyar, who played the lead role "X" in the original film, is now reprising his role. Taking over for Matthew Wilkas who was originally announced to replace him. In June 2021, Magyar announced that the series will be seen publicly before the end of the year. On August 3, 2021, The Kickstarter was updated to include the date of the 1st public viewing to be at the 21st

FilmOut San Diego FilmOut San Diego, also known as the San Diego LGBTQ Film Festival, is an annual film festival in San Diego, California. History Michael McQuiggan has been the festival programmer since 2003 and the venue locations include the North Park Theat ...

on September 11, 2021, at the

Museum of Photographic Arts The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...

(MOPA) at Balboa Park. The title of the series eventually changed to ''Boy Culture: Generation X'' and was released on all streaming platforms on November 7, 2023

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Culture 2006 films 2006 independent films 2006 LGBTQ-related films 2006 romantic drama films American independent films American LGBTQ-related films American romantic drama films 2000s English-language films Films about interracial romance Films about male prostitution in the United States Films based on American novels Films set in Seattle Films shot in Washington (state) Films shot in Seattle Gay-related films LGBTQ-related romantic drama films 2000s American films Films adapted into television shows English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films