Bad Boy Street (2012) User Reviews

A Gay Paris Love Story

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 2 August 2013]

The film opens with various scenes in a nightclub, with the house music cranking. In the following shot, we see one guy waking up a hottie sleeping in the street, and helping get him into bed to sleep it off. Eight minutes goes by before a word is spoken in our film. And then, it's fourteen minutes into the movie before we (and they) find out each other's name. All very mysterious, but sweet. Yann de Monterno is "Claude", a few years older than "Brad", ( Kevin Miranda ), who he brought in from the street. They have breakfast, and promise to meet up for dinner. In pops Catherine, the upstairs neighbor and best friend, who even prepares the dinner for Claude to serve to Brad; i wish I had a neighbor who would do that for me! Then things start to go haywire. Things happen. Good things. Bad things. Misunderstandings. The one flaw in the script here is the inclusion of the writer himself in the story. Claude is asked to do something 59 minutes into the story ( which I would have refused to do ), and that scene really took away from the movie for me. Verow was totally believable in the scene; i just felt the scene didn't belong in the film, as if it were added in later. They could have accomplished the same result, in so many better ways, without that three or four minutes of footage. Aside from that, excellent film. I love the friendship between Catherine and Claude... you can really feel the warmth and caring they have for each other.

Written, directed, and even acted by Todd Verow, who seems to be a very prolific writer, director, actor. I'd like to see more of his films if they are available on DVD. The film quality, lighting, sound, and editing are professional-grade, much better than your typical indie film.

A film that deserves a wider audience

[Spectator88 · 6/10 · 28 August 2013]

Bad Boy Street is a charming, feel good film from prolific filmmaker Todd Verow. Actor Yann deMonterno plays Claude, a Parisian man, who on his way home after a night out finds a younger man passed out drunk on the sidewalk and takes him home to sleep it off. The next morning begins a very quickly developing and heartwarming romance between Claude and "Brad", the younger man, played by Kevin Miranda, who is struggling with who he is and who he really wants to be. Although clearly troubled, Brad is very sweet and loving. The third principal is Catherine, played by Florence d'Azemar, Claude's closest friend, who is always there to provide him affectionate and comforting support throughout the ups and downs of his burgeoning love for Brad. All three characters are very likable and all three actors are quite wonderful. For good measure Kevin Miranda is surely one of the most beautiful men ever. Yes, the movie's scenario may be somewhat improbable but it is a touching story of love and friendship that can give hope to all. There are some technical deficiencies, for example an uneven soundtrack, but they do not detract from the film's overall enjoyment. Highly recommended!

Almost, but not quite.....

[ohlabtechguy · 6/10 · 19 December 2018]

Gay love story set in Paris. Story rather far fetched. Gay French guy picks up an American closeted, movie star, who has fallen down drunk in an alley near his Paris apartment. The French guy doesn't know who the American is and doesn't find out until much later. The two end up having passionate sex; falling for each other, but the ending doesn't make it clear what happens to their relationship. Movie focuses much time on the relationship between the Frenchman and his closest female friend, who lives in the same building. This could have been a very romantic and emotional movie, but the focus is wrong. The storyline is not believable and it's weakly executed. The actor playing the American had an accent that was not American. So not convincing there.

provocative

[Kirpianuscus · 1 June 2021]

In this case, provocative can have so many different senses than it becomes, scene by scene, a sort of quiz for a large public. An old man and a young one . A story who can be defined as a nice trip , behind romance, meeting, party, message. A sort of fair and gentle definition of love. Working well.

Amusing walk down the street

[jpetry54 · 7/10 · 22 April 2014]

Most gay comedies leave a lot to be desired. This one stands out for reasons not immediately obvious. First, the actors are not American despite one of the main characters supposedly being a well known American actor making a movie in Paris. Bits of dialogue mention certain movie plots for American movies made in Europe. Someone complained about the American speaking English with an accent - much like most American actors when they speak French or other foreign language dialogue in movie - Matt Damon in a certain trilogy? Also the parody of the American movie towards the end is an amusing satirical comment on American movies.

The initial encounter between the main characters is well done, despite what some people say, these sorts of pick-ups happen. The resulting romance could have been better developed. It would have been more realistic if it were simply a romantic tryst. The relationship with the neighbor is very realistic. The angst of the American star was amusing as was the interaction with the actor's "agent". I kept waiting for the French lead to blow up on the agent. The mention of the moral's clause was absurd as while such clauses still exist they do not include a gay romance any longer. But ti was a good way to comment on the American hypocrisy when it comes to sex and violence.

All in all a fun romp.

Paris deserves better

[jmason68 · 4/10 · 15 September 2013]

The previous reviews prompted me to write. This film has plenty going against it. The least of which is the American accent. This is clearly intended to be seen as a love story but how are these two in love? I don't believe they share anything except sex. When Claude is first stood up his response should have been "oh well, boys will be boys" or "c'est la vie." Instead, you would have thought he'd been left at the alter. He hasn't known him a day! I wanted to like Claude but I just could not relate to how a mature man would become smitten with a boy-toy. I mean what did Brad bring to relationship other than sex. Certainly not witty conversation or a shared love of (fill in the blank). Then there was the paper signing which might have led to some insight into their hearts and minds but that went nowhere. Come on fellow mo's we have got to have higher standards for our movies. Bad Boy Street--yeeesh!

Much better than expected

[david-coberly-266-809160 · 9/10 · 12 July 2013]

As you can see, I rated this film 9 out of 10, and I would have been happy to rate it a 10 had it not been for two peculiarities. 1. The soundtrack is awful. If only there were some way to tune it out! Deaf people will enjoy this movie much more than their hearing-enabled friends. 2. One of the two main characters is "American". Speaking English in Paris makes clear that he is NOT American. His wiki explains that he's Portuguese. No matter, you'll just never believe his accent is American.

The movie is great! What begins as picking up a guy who has passed out in the gutter becomes oh so much more! The Frenchness of the film defies all our American stereotypes. The pacing is slow and cerebral, and the film unravels at something approaching the speed of real life.

I won't give away the ending, but let's just say it's pretty courageous.

Surprising and Delightful

[donwc1996 · 10/10 · 20 July 2013]

This film has a certain innocence that one just doesn't see in films these days. I'm really not sure why or even exactly how to define it, but watching this film make me feel like a kid on the verge of life's discovery. Giddy and excited, pure as the driven snow too. And I think that says pretty much not just how this film affected me but how it was written as though we lived in a new age of innocence in which everyone was untainted with sin. This probably has a lot to do with the individual who made this film and his view of the world, that we are innocent and live in innocence until proved guilty. Happily there is no guilt in this movie - it is all innocent joy, filled with a light hearted zest that makes your head swim. If more films were like this it would be a much better world and who knows perhaps this film is the beginning of a new wave of film that celebrates life rather than denigrates it.

Finally a positive Spring/Summer gay movie

[jthawkins-28670 · 10/10 · 16 June 2021]

It's so difficult to find positive gay romances between an older guy and younger guy. I've seen too many gay movies that show these kinds of love affairs in a negative light. This was a really sweet story that featured this genre in a delightful and romantic way.