Loverboy (2004)

18% of critics liked it
(34 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(21,365 ratings)

A mother once neglected as child but possessed of a heart overflowing with love grows increasingly despondent as her beloved child begins to claim his independence in director Kevin Bacon's adaptation of Victoria Redel's best-selling novel. If loving too much were a crime, well-meaning but… More A mother once neglected as child but possessed of a heart overflowing with love grows increasingly despondent as her beloved child begins to claim his independence in director Kevin Bacon's adaptation of Victoria Redel's best-selling novel. If loving too much were a crime, well-meaning but overbearing mother Emily (Kyra Sedgwick) would be spending life behind bars with no hope of parole. When Emily was a child, her parents were deeply in love with one another but tragically indifferent to their affection-starved daughter. Now a grown adult with a deep-rooted desire to bear a child, Emily goes to desperate lengths to conceive before eventually giving birth to an exceptionally gifted boy whom she names Paul. Emily's devotion to Paul burns brighter than a thousand suns as she creates a wondrous world of books, music, art, and games to share with her growing child, but her ever more desperate attempts to preserve the purity of their relationship reach a frantic fever pitch as a kindhearted local man opens his life to the pair and Paul prepares for his first year of school. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Kevin Bacon
Written By: Victoria Redel, Hannah Shakespeare
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 16, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Sep 26, 2006
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Long before the 86-minute film runs its course, you'll want to bolt from your seat and call Child Protective Services.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
Even though Loverboy is only 86 minutes long, as it wore on, I wore out.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
There is a lot of skill on display here and a great performance but I can't recommend it either because this woman is so clearly and obviously abusive and insane.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Emily is a complicated woman, all right, but she's a difficult person to spend an entire movie with.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
First-time director Kevin Bacon (Mr. Sedgwick) cleverly maintains a balance of discomfiting and familiar by jumping nimbly around Emily's life.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
The real trouble is at its core, with an over-the-top performance from Sedgwick that borders on Baby Jane campiness.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Remarkably unsubtle and by-the-numbers, and thanks to some curious plotting, it's also a bit shrill and unpleasant.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
If the situations are intentionally unreal, Sedgwick's performance could not be more real.
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
[Bacon's] overly stylized direction is distracting at first and then quickly becomes oppressive ...
Gary Goldstein, Reel.com
A creepy misfire.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Except for the kid, what we have are a bunch of ageing ingénues grateful for the work and doing their best.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It all adds up to an unfortunate misfire: a film at odds with both its source material and itself.
Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
Almost everything is annotated, or explained by incessant voice-over. This is its own form of suffocation, and the ideas and themes feel like they've been mothered too much.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
It makes for a deeply uncomfortable moviegoing experience -- but unfortunately not one with enough behavioral insight to justify the pain.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
Freud might have found something interesting here, but for most of us it's just a crazy mom movie, whatever contrivances the filmmakers use to make it all seem more profound.
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com
The film runs out of steam by revealing too much, too soon.
, E! Online
Sedgwick does her best with the material, but the script is enamored with cloying dialogue and irritating voiceover, and Bacon's direction relies on shtick and gimmicks. We got no love for Loverboy.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Loverboy," Emily(Kyra Sedgwick) has decided to be the kind of parent her parents(Kevin Bacon & Marisa Tomei) never were.(All her memories of them are unpleasant and border on caricature.) Her first step is to give birth to her baby on her own… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Loverboy," Emily(Kyra Sedgwick) has decided to be the kind of parent her parents(Kevin Bacon & Marisa Tomei) never were.(All her memories of them are unpleasant and border on caricature.) Her first step is to give birth to her baby on her own with the help of a vast selection of sperm donors. When that does not work, she succeeds after a one night stand in Chicago. After the baby is born, she buys a house in Yonkers with cash.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Kevin Bacon, "Loverboy" is an insipid movie about motherhood that takes the conservative stance that all independently single mothers are kooks.(Admittedly, Kyra Sedgwick does have a way with playing neurotics, as demonstrated in "The Closer," especially when pastry is involved.) The movie naively believes that love is needed in making a baby when all is required is one unhappy accident. And there is nothing wrong with home schooling a child, even if some parents do it for religious reasons. Anyway, I think all parents, single or married, are selfish to one degree or another.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]And hey is that Sandra Bullock?[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Note: Kyra Sedgwick, Campbell Scott and Matt Dillon were also in "Singles."[/font]
Andrew F

A surprisingly well-made drama with a stunning ending.
Robert F

On the one hand, I hate Emily for being so selfish (a characteristic possibly passed down by her parents). On the other hand, the way she was portrayed by K. Sedg makes me feel that I'm being too judgemental. One question I have is how did the Emily of the 70s (the Life On Mars… More
On the one hand, I hate Emily for being so selfish (a characteristic possibly passed down by her parents). On the other hand, the way she was portrayed by K. Sedg makes me feel that I'm being too judgemental. One question I have is how did the Emily of the 70s (the Life On Mars singing Emily) turn into the nutbag Emily of present day? She seemed so normal as a child. Sandra Bullock gave an incredible depth to her character who made only cameo appearances. For the funniest performance given a background extra EVER, skip to the part where Paul/Loverboy meets the school children for the first time (watch the boy third from the left). Hilarious.
Leo L

Great movie!
Sarah P

Horrifying tale of sickness and obsessive love of a mother for her child.