a short film by Gregor Schmidinger 2008 | 14 mins | US ›› The Boy Next Door a cinematic study of friendship. Official Synopsis:- Mark, a 25-year-old male prostitute who suffers from anxiety attacks accidentally runs into the 10-year-old son of one of his clients. When the boy tells him he is looking for his father, Mark taken by surprise, wants nothing to do with him. But while they wait for the client to return, Mark realizes that maybe this unexpected guest was exactly what he needed. Dave Says:- Tender and touching is this debut work from writer and director Gregor Schmidinger of Homophobia fame. Sure, if you suffer from anxiety attacks, being a male escort is clearly not the best career choice. But it is a plot device that pertinently sets up the central premise of the growing friendship between two strangers, and how they come to give each other the courage to face up to their personal demons. Well enacted and paced, this cinematic study of friendship beautifully juxtaposes a father more concerned with taking care of the business in hand, than taking care of his son, with the love of a hustler with morals. And therein lies its beauty; that of a short film with a big heart, enhanced by a vivid sense of camaraderie between a boy for hire and the boy, next door. Wonderful, even if Schmidinger has yet again been busy in the editing suite, resulting in two versions of his work, with the edited master below notably devoid of its original opening sequence. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - strictly from the waist up.  Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.  ›› click HERE for the deleted opening of The Boy Next Door ‹‹ starring: Michael Ellison / Mark, Truman Chambers / Justin and Damon Preston as Mr Brown. official website: www.theboynextdoor-film.com Copyright 2012 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #512 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹