The Mudge Boy (2003)
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77% of critics liked it
(26 reviews) -
71% of users liked it
(2,211 ratings)
Writer/director Michael Burke makes his feature-length debut with the coming-of-age drama The Mudge Boy. Known as a weird kid, Duncan Mudge (Emile Hirsch) is a naïve 14-year-old farm boy with an aging father, Edgar (Richard Jenkins), and very little social life. When Duncan's mother suddenly… More Writer/director Michael Burke makes his feature-length debut with the coming-of-age drama The Mudge Boy. Known as a weird kid, Duncan Mudge (Emile Hirsch) is a naïve 14-year-old farm boy with an aging father, Edgar (Richard Jenkins), and very little social life. When Duncan's mother suddenly dies, he develops a strange fascination with her clothes, speaks in her voice, and spends his time with his pet chicken. His father and the other people in the town just don't understand his behavior, while the other kids make fun of him. A drunken group of older boys call him names, but they eventually allow him to hang out with them if he provides beer money. Duncan admires one of the boys, Perry (Tom Guiry), who reveals some hidden truths about himself. As the relationship between the two deepens, it begins to take on darker, more ominous shadings. The Mudge Boy premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Burke
- Written By
- Michael Burke
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Jan 17, 2003 Wide
- On DVD
- May 9, 2006
- Studio
- Strand Releasing
Critic Reviews
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Matt Weitz, Dallas Morning News
Condescending tone ... contrivance ... and cliché.
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Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like a sturdy, well-observed short story, its narrative pieces put together with a plain elegance.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The Mudge Boy is odd and intense, very well acted, and impossible to dismiss.
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Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune
Because the camera so closely follows Duncan -- there's scarcely a scene he's off-frame; his awkwardness is bold and unapologetic -- he sticks close to our sympathies.
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Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
A little picture -- the names of the entire cast would fit on half a sheet of paper -- but it's more heartfelt than movies with 50 times the budget.
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Cast
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Emile Hirsch
as Duncan
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Tom Guiry
as Perry Foley
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Richard Jenkins
as Edgar Mudge
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Pablo Schreiber
as Brent
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Zachary Knighton
as Travis
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Ryan Donowho
as Scotty
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Meredith Handerhan
as Tonya
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Beckie King
as April
- Sandra Gartner
- Tara O'Reilly
