Rating: 
Summary: Mixed bag of gay-themed stories
Review: "Boys Life Three Stories of Love, Lust, and Liberation" (1995) was an interesting, though blandly filmed, trio of stories which explored the pleasures and pitfalls of coming out. Though not without problems of its own, "Boys Life 2" represents a broadening of narrative horizons, with four short films that explore different facets of the gay experience."Must Be the Music" (1996) is Nickolas Perry's take on the lives of four young friends (three gay, one ostensibly straight) who's visit to an LA nightclub reveals an array of barely-suppressed emotions. The tone is raucous and hard-edged, but the film comes to an abrupt ending long before the characters have been fully established or their situations resolved. Tom DeCerchio's "Nunzio's Second Cousin" (1994) is the ace in the pack, a superb vignette in which a potentially lethal gay-bashing is turned completely around when one of the intended victims turns out to be a gun-wielding cop who seems to recognise something ambiguous about the motives of one of his attackers. By turns hilarious and frightening, the film revels in its contradictions (ie. the warm-hearted gay man with an explosive temper; the sweet old guy who turns out to be an ignorant racist; the handsome young thug who isn't what he seems, etc.) whilst offering viewers a wish-fulfillment assault on small-minded bigots everywhere. Vincent D'Onofrio (the cop), Eileen Brennan (his dotty mom), and the gorgeous Miles Perlich (the thug) topline this small gem of a movie, and they each play their roles to perfection. Mark Christopher directs the much-praised "Alkali, Iowa" (1995), the tale of a young gay farmer who literally unearths the secrets of his long dead father and immediately upsets the deceptive tranquility of his deeply troubled family. Beautifully photographed, the film generates an authentic sense of landscape and mystery, but the ambitious narrative is defeated by a patently inadequate running time (17 minutes). Finally, Tom Donaghy's "The Dadshuttle" (1994) records the conversation between a young man and his doting father during a short car journey which culminates in a tragic revelation. Deliberately uncinematic, this is basically an actor's piece, nicely underplayed by Matt McGrath (son)and Peter Maloney (father), but the dialogue is slightly too theatrical at times and the confined staging limits the film's emotional impact. The first two entries are presented at approximately 1.75:1, while the final two are full-frame. Sound is Dolby Digital mono. Viewers should be aware that the DVD version of "Boys Life 2" (this title doesn't appear anywhere on the print itself) differs from the original theatrical release, which offered Peggy Rajski's Oscar-winning short "Trevor" (1995) instead of "The Dadshuttle". This is possibly due to copyright wrangles over the Diana Ross songs which figure heavily in Rajski's film. Anyway, on this evidence, there's no reason why the "Boys Life" series couldn't become a regular thing on DVD, presenting the best gay-themed short films by new directors on an annual basis. Roll on "Boys Life 3"!
Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag of gay-themed stories
Review: "Boys Life Three Stories of Love, Lust, and Liberation" (1995) was an interesting, though blandly filmed, trio of stories which explored the pleasures and pitfalls of coming out. Though not without problems of its own, "Boys Life 2" represents a broadening of narrative horizons, with four short films that explore different facets of the gay experience. "Must Be the Music" (1996) is Nickolas Perry's take on the lives of four young friends (three gay, one ostensibly straight) who's visit to an LA nightclub reveals an array of barely-suppressed emotions. The tone is raucous and hard-edged, but the film comes to an abrupt ending long before the characters have been fully established or their situations resolved. Tom DeCerchio's "Nunzio's Second Cousin" (1994) is the ace in the pack, a superb vignette in which a potentially lethal gay-bashing is turned completely around when one of the intended victims turns out to be a gun-wielding cop who seems to recognise something ambiguous about the motives of one of his attackers. By turns hilarious and frightening, the film revels in its contradictions (ie. the warm-hearted gay man with an explosive temper; the sweet old guy who turns out to be an ignorant racist; the handsome young thug who isn't what he seems, etc.) whilst offering viewers a wish-fulfillment assault on small-minded bigots everywhere. Vincent D'Onofrio (the cop), Eileen Brennan (his dotty mom), and the gorgeous Miles Perlich (the thug) topline this small gem of a movie, and they each play their roles to perfection. Mark Christopher directs the much-praised "Alkali, Iowa" (1995), the tale of a young gay farmer who literally unearths the secrets of his long dead father and immediately upsets the deceptive tranquility of his deeply troubled family. Beautifully photographed, the film generates an authentic sense of landscape and mystery, but the ambitious narrative is defeated by a patently inadequate running time (17 minutes). Finally, Tom Donaghy's "The Dadshuttle" (1994) records the conversation between a young man and his doting father during a short car journey which culminates in a tragic revelation. Deliberately uncinematic, this is basically an actor's piece, nicely underplayed by Matt McGrath (son)and Peter Maloney (father), but the dialogue is slightly too theatrical at times and the confined staging limits the film's emotional impact. The first two entries are presented at approximately 1.75:1, while the final two are full-frame. Sound is Dolby Digital mono. Viewers should be aware that the DVD version of "Boys Life 2" (this title doesn't appear anywhere on the print itself) differs from the original theatrical release, which offered Peggy Rajski's Oscar-winning short "Trevor" (1995) instead of "The Dadshuttle". This is possibly due to copyright wrangles over the Diana Ross songs which figure heavily in Rajski's film. Anyway, on this evidence, there's no reason why the "Boys Life" series couldn't become a regular thing on DVD, presenting the best gay-themed short films by new directors on an annual basis. Roll on "Boys Life 3"!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the first one
Review: ... this is a charming collection, and MUCH better than the first BOYS LIFE. The vignettes are sharper, more distinctive, the writing is more incisive, there's more humor, and more complexity in the supporting (i.e., non-gay) characters. That said, if you're not gay, or not close to someone who is, these short films will probably strike you as nothing special.
Rating:
Summary: More depth than the first Boys Life
Review: After watching both films (on DVD) I thing Boys Life 2 has more depth. (Well the first film in BL2 isn't very deep... but the last three are...) Anyhoo, Nunzio's 2nd Cousin is rich in dark humor, Alkali Iowa a gritty and honest depiction of life in rural farm country... and Dadshuttle is an interesting film... Someone earlier railed against this last film... It isn't a film that you can sit back and be bemused and entertained, but it is an incredible film showing a father who isn't listening to what his son is telling him... How the father is able to not confront the truth of his son's message is amazing.... Very good movies overall...
Rating:
Summary: Great collection of shorts!
Review: Here's another great collection of short gay films. From a teen disco to a midwestern farm, these stories reflect a wide panorama of gay life in the nineties. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Great collection of shorts!
Review: Here's another great collection of short gay films. From a teen disco to a midwestern farm, these stories reflect a wide panorama of gay life in the nineties. Excellent!
Rating: 
Summary: Unwatachable
Review: I found this movie, a series of short stories, to be boring and uninteresting. Film making is hard work and I congratulate the film makers for their efforts. However, I could not finish watching and do not want this movie a part of my collection.
Rating:
Summary: Unwatachable
Review: I found this movie, a series of short stories, to be boring and uninteresting. Film making is hard work and I congratulate the film makers for their efforts. However, I could not finish watching and do not want this movie a part of my collection.
Rating: 
Summary: It's ok
Review: I had a real tough time understand these short films. The difficulty I had was understand why they were made. There was really no point to them. I'll start with "Must Be the Music." Some friends go to a club. One friend ends up getting the pager number to one guy he meets there. The end. Did I miss something? Is that supposed to be entertaining? Next is "Nunzio's Second Cousin." Two gay men walk out of a club. A bunch of guys plan on gay bashing them. One of the gay guys pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot them all. He lets them all go except one. He invites him over to have dinner with his mother. After dinner, the gay guy forces the boy to kiss him and then pushes him down on the ground. The end. Is the point of this to teach a lesson to a gay basher? Why have dinner with him? It's stupid. And the acting of the gay guy is horrible. He is just obnoxious. Next is "Alkali, Iowa." A gay boy finds out his dead father was gay. The end. Last, and my favorite, is "The Dadshuttle." There's not much that goes on here except a rather long and hard to follow conversation between a father and son. The son is gay and I think he has HIV. The father doesn't want to talk about it so he just rambles on about pointless things. He's funny though. After it was all over I let out a big yawn and took a nap. I'm glad I only rented this.
Rating:
Summary: Very diverse look at gay life - good for youth groups
Review: I had some difficulty understanding the first story, guess that's the generation gap. Nunzio's Second Cousin, while dark, highlights our need to encourage each other to be honest with ourselves. Alkalai, Iowa, is my favorite: there is gay life outside of New York, San Francisco and LA. It also raises the question of gay being genetic. The Dadshuttle is a spectacular example of the problems we have not only communicating with others, but with ourselves. Overall, the stories are a good reflection of the gay struggle for honesty, openness and acceptance, both within our culture and in the general culture.
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