“Honey Boy” plays out like an act of catharsis for its writer./
“Honey Boy” feels like catharsis for writer/ star Shia Labeouf
Shia Labeouf was going to be the next great movie star, perhaps the top box office attraction of the 2010s. It was his destiny.
The former child actor had grown into a handsome young man, and in 2007 he starred in a successful thriller, “Disturbia,” got his own franchise (the “Transformers” movies), and was even anointed the next Indiana Jones, with Harrison Ford handing Indy ’s fedora to Labeouf at the end of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Then came arrests, alcoholfueled incidents and strange behavior that sent him into the movie wilderness.
“Honey Boy” is more than Lebeouf ’s bounce-back film. It ’s an explanation. It ’s part of his 12-step process. It ’s a cathartic release of anger.
Directed by Alma Har’el from Lebeouf ’s script, Lebeouf stars as his own father, an emotionally abusive substance abuser who is steering his child star’s career. A frustrated, failed performer, James Lort lives with his son Otis (the Lebeouf stand-in, played by Noah Jupe) in a seedy motel and drives him to auditions and filming days.
The film regularly f lashes forward to the older Otis (Lucas Hedges), as he works out his issues in rehab, a court-mandated stint after an alcohol-related crash.
“I’m an egomaniac with an inferiority complex,” the older Otis says, and it seems like an honest admission straight from Lebeouf.
Young Otis, well-played by Jupe (who is also good as Christian Bale’s son in “Ford v. Ferrari”) smokes cigarettes at age 12 and develops a crush on an older teen girl ( played by the singer
FKA Twigs) who lives across the way. He’s constantly walking on eggshells, never knowing when his father is going to go off on him.
In makeup as dad, a bandanawearing balding man with John Lennon glasses, Lebeouf looks as if he’s playing Jon Cusack playing Taron Egerton playing Elton John. It ’s a weird look, and takes some getting used to. But soon his performance — which can be overbearing to the point of sucking all the oxygen out of the room — takes over.
Eventually, the imperfect “Honey Boy” — it could have used more from the older Otis; Hedges is almost wasted — achieves a raw, hard-won honesty.
The most interesting idea in the film is when the older Otis lashes out to his therapist (a most welcome Laura San Giacomo), who is trying to get him to release his anger.
“The only thing my father gave me that was of any value was pain,” Otis retorts. “And you want to take it away?”
To achieve as an artist, pain is an essential tool in the toolbelt, Lebeouf is saying. If you solve these issues, are you rendering yourself ineffective as an artist? Stripping away some of your talent? If you have been growing up with that mind-set since early childhood, you can be excused for thinking that way.
I don’t know Lebeouf ’s personal status, but with “Honey Boy” he seems to have reached a professional moment of clarity. He’s trying to make amends, and that’s commendable. And he still has some issues to work out. We’re here to help.
“Hi, audience. I’m Shia LEBeouf. And I’m an alcoholic and recovering jerk.”
“Hi Shia. I’m Allen, and I’m a movieholic. Welcome.”