Ratboy

The idea must have looked bizarre on paper: a poignant comedy-drama about a half-human, half-rodent orphan found living in an LA dump, groomed to be a media sensation, and exploited by various Hollywood hustlers in search of a quick buck. It could have been an intriguing fantasy of show-biz manipulation, but like its title character the film cowers timidly in a corner, unwilling to break free from convention. Actress-turned-director Sondra Locke doesn't shy away from unflattering characterizations (she herself plays a ruthless opportunist using Ratboy as her ticket to fame), and wisely doesn't disturb the air of unreality around the story (no one, for example, shows much interest in Ratboy's origins). But the title character himself is never more than a transparent metaphor, and once that idea is exhausted nothing is left except a few gratuitous car chases and an ending drenched in post-E.T. pathos. The French apparently loved it, but keep in mind these are the same cinephiles who consider Jerry Lewis a comic genius.

Read the other comments about this "film" and you'll hear some attempts to treat it nicely; ie it was emotional, charismatic, etc. These people have no taste and are single-handedly keeping Jerry Bruckheimer (sic) in business. Ratboy is horrible. Horrible horrible. And, not even in a self-conscious manner, as if to poke fun of itself. People, i ask you to please go see this and start appreciating quality films again. "Ratboy the Pimp" is a moment worth remembering for the rest of your lives. It's so bad it hurts me in a special place. Horrible. In fact, it's so bad, that i need to invent a new word to describe it: Natoosh. A movie is "natoosh" when it extends the boundaries of bad film. When it redefines our core values of good and evil, well, that's natoosh. Ratboy is Natoosh to the extreme. I pray for humanity...

"Ratboy" is not a good movie by any means. The freakish protagonist (despite the movie´s theme song) lacks personality. In fact, he´s disgusting in every way. The script is incredibly lame without being funny. As can be expected of a Sondra Locke movie, it is just as bland as her cutesy modern cowboy farces with Clint Eastwood. The plot is all over the place. In spite of all these flaws, though, the film is so unique that it´s fascinating. It pretty much gives the message that monsters do not necessarily have to have a hidden beauty and are best left alone. The plot concerns a reporter named Nicky (Locke) finding a rat-human hybrid named Eugene and adopting him while seeing him as nothing more than a news story that would dramatically improve her career. Her human associates don´t treat him much better. In spite of this, Eugene falls in love with Nicky (which is never particularly sad or funny). She does not love him back but is torn between exploiting him and feeling sorry for him. There are some crime related subplots too and Christopher Hewitt from "Mr. Belvedere" makes some appearances playing (surprise) a snooty British guy. This plot keeps the viewer interested if nothing else but only because it is so weird that anyone would wonder what will happen next. Basically, what´s great about the movie is that people with good sense would never have made it but Locke and company went ahead and made it anyway ! Therefore, "Ratboy" is every bit as punk as the Sex Pistols´ first album. Its audacity is remarkable.

i like rats. i like boys. why wouldn't i like this film? i can't rank it as high as "return to oz" or "the neverending story" or any of the delightfully twisted cinematic acid-trips of my childhood, but it has its charm as a modern fairy-tale. one of few "family films" that actually doesn't make me want to wretch. not one of the worst movies ever made, but not one of the best either.

When Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke were still an item, Eastwood helped Locke make her directorial debut with this movie through his production company Malpaso. Though Eastwood has typically shown a good batting average when picking projects, this movie joins efforts like "Pink Cadillac" that have you thinking, "What were you thinking, Clint?"

Actually, much of the failure of "Ratboy" falls on Locke's shoulders. The first mistake she made was casting herself in the movie; Locke has never been a good actress, and this movie is no exception. As for her direction, the movie is a mess. Sometimes it's serious in tone, sometimes it's satirical, and sometimes its tone is downright farce. The movie never finds a consistent tone, so it's hard to get involved with what's happening.

It also doesn't help that the characters' actions are more often than not unbelievable, even when the movie tries to be serious. And while the title character can speak, there is surprisingly little effort to get into his head and learn what he's thinking or feeling.

In fairness to Locke, some of the mess was probably not her fault. The story, either through an inadequately written screenplay or (more likely) being hacked up in the editing room, has a number of moments where it's clear that certain plot details are blatantly missing. There are plot threads that seem to start in midstream, or are never resolved at all.

What all this results in is a real mess of a movie, and it's easy to see why Warner Brothers barely released it to theaters.