Honey Boy

2019 Directed by Alma Har'el

The story of a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade, loosely based on Shia LaBeouf’s life.

Shia LaBeouf Lucas Hedges Noah Jupe Byron Bowers Laura San Giacomo FKA twigs Natasha Lyonne Maika Monroe Clifton Collins Jr. Martin Starr Dorian Brown Pham Craig Stark Sandra Rosko Greta Jung Kara C. Roberts Giovanni Lopes Al Burke Paulina Bugembe Eli Santana Ludwig Manukian Chala Savino Leana Chavez Graham Clarke Zack Whyel Ben Maccabee Kingston Vernes Bryan Sapphire Haylee Sanchez Autumn Barlow Show All… Al Burke

Alternative Titles

Hunajapoika, 宝贝童年, ハニー・ボーイ, Medeni dečak, Honungspojken, Şeker Çocuk, 我的寶貝男孩, Гарний хлопчик

drama

94 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

News We’re at Sundance 2019 with the director and writer-star of Honey Boy. Read post

Popular reviews

Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★ 20

So much going on here, I think it's pretty brilliant. Will be elaborating more on the Karstcast episode coming next monday!
(please don't like this review and make a podcast plug one of the top reviews for this movie please)
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★ 19

Last year it was Ethan Hawke, this year it’s Shia (so far). One of the most powerful performances I’ve seen in awhile. Agh. Yeah. Hm. Wow. Glad I exchanged my Velvet Buzzsaw ticket for this. You people are gonna eat this shit up.
Review by iana ★★★★½ 4

my biggest weakness is sincerity so, yeah, i loved HONEY BOY. it’s more than just a cinematic memoir, it’s an act of forgiveness. the whole cast is wonderful but noah jupe displays a wisdom and emotional maturity far beyond his years. i really hope he goes far.
Review by Demi Adejuyigbe ★★★★ 12

Oh, this was a painful watch.
This is a movie about the inescapable trauma you can inherit from your parents and how hard it is not to love them in spite of it all. It’s a movie about recognizing your own problems as they happen but still feeling powerless to stop them, feeling like you need them. I recognize so many of Otis’s actions and emotions in people I know, in people I’ve loved. I’ve reckoned with the frustration of loving these people and feeling like they should “just be better,” only to see a pain in their eyes that shows me that they’re trying. More than anything, it’s clear that this movie is a cathartic (if maybe too meta)…
Review by maria ★★★★½ 9

forget dad astra, THIS is the daddy issues movie of 2019 and possibly of ever
Review by katie ★★★★★ 7

"I'm going to make a movie about you."
Honey Boy is not perfect. But Honey Boy is loud, and with emotions as honest and raw as these, loud is perfect. Loud enough to give me bruises and stains of mascara on my cheeks, honest enough to dig up old phone calls with my dad, raw enough to leave me in pieces. All I know right now, with the scars Honey Boy left with me, is that Noah Jupe gives my favorite performance of the year, and Shia LaBeouf is just about as emotionally vulnerable as a writer and performer can get. I don't think I could get this movie out of my head if I tried.
And I wouldn't dare.
"Make me look good, Honey Boy."

Recent reviews

Review by eden ★★★★★

dear the entire cast,
i will personally hand deliver you your oscars to ur doorsteps plz give me the addresses and i can be there in 5 minutes
Review by Jason ★★★★½

Honey boy is an honest, intense, bold, and powerful look at actor Shia Labeouf’s problems which developed because of his abusive father, who was also his manager. Although Shia has given the name Otis to the movie’s central character, there are more than enough clues and hints (given by him also as the movie’s story writer) to confirm the fact that it is Shia’s story that is being portrayed in Honey Boy. From Even Stevens to Transformers, I’ve watched Shia Labeouf’s career rapidly evolve and slowly wind down to how people view him today. Recognized as someone who may have let the fame get to his head, Honey boy is a film that will show you why he was the…
Review by nathaniel ★★★★★

why did th-🤣
why did the chicken cross the road🤣🤣
Review by Bill Murray’s so hot ★★★★½

still one of my favorites from 2019 hands down— holds up incredibly well on a second watch— and I predicted it in the theater but this is one that I hope gets a lotta life on streaming just because it feels so intimate yet so strong— again: like you’re sitting in on a therapy session with Shia
don’t even know what else to add but that all three of the main performances are fantastic, the cinematography / lighting is stunningly beautiful at points, and the soundtrack absolutely slaps (I feel like I have a better description for it this time: like a broken down carnival— highly fitting)— if you’ve got Prime and haven’t watched it yet please do yourself a favor and get on that shit ASAP
Review by ty_mcgowen ★★★½

This movie is amazing, if you don’t look at it as a movie. Honey Boy is meant to be a therapeutic practice for Shia LaBeouf to share with everyone. That isn’t something that is easy, this movie is raw and has mistakes because that’s what it looks like to go through a life like LaBeouf’s. And to play his father like he was and not as LaBeouf remembers him is so difficult. The scenes with LaBeouf and Noah Jupe are great, the sky is the limit for Jupe after this performance. Lastly the directorial direction of Alma Har’el is fantastic, we will definitely see her name many times in the future.
Review by diana🧃 ★★★★½

noah jupes acting yeaaa
Review by Matt Dotson ★★★½

In a way, it’s so hard to connect to this because of how obviously personal it is to Shia. But, it’s fascinating and heartbreaking and I’m very glad I watched it. In a way I guess I grew up with Shia LaBeouf, and this was never something I would expect at this stage in his life and career. I think he’s a great artist.
Review by jay ★★★★★

everyone’s performance in this was amazing 🧑🏽‍🦼
Review by Benjamin Keffer ★★★

Enjoyed it. Should have been longer in the third act.