Posted: Wednesday 20th August 2008

Ricky (Nick May) enjoys his life as part of a three-way couple. Disappointed that he can't go away with his boyfriends to their parents for Christmas, Ricky offers to stay at home and look after the house and the threesome's pets. The morning his boyfriends are due to leave, Ricky hears them talking about replacing him with another young boy. After they leave, Ricky plummets into depression and falls into a spiral of self-destruction. Lacking in meaning and purpose, he embarks on random sexual encounters with complete strangers until he meets Blake (Blake Young-Fountain), the one man who may be able to prevent him from committing suicide.

The Houseboy is a dark exploration of gay relationships and dissects the dynamic between a three-way relationship. Whilst this isn't the most common form of relationship, it happens more than people think and is a perfectly acceptable way for people to live their lives provided all parties are comfortable with the arrangement. In Ricky's case one of the men in the relationship really loves him whereas the other sees him as a toy. This results in a feeling of frustration and anxiety prompting Ricky to decide to take his life on Christmas Eve.

This film isn't for everyone and isn't always easy viewing. The quality of the film is fairly low and it's clear that there wasn't much of a budget. The depiction of sex is incredibly graphic and very in your face as is the movie's depiction of drug use. The Houseboy will likely reinforce the stereotype that many gay people live their lives in this way and that isn't the case at all. The movie should be viewed as an exploration of one kind of gay relationship not a representation of them all.

The acting in the movie varies greatly but the one constant is Nick May as Ricky. His performance is simple, honest and raw and you actually forget that he's acting every once in a while. He seems so natural and really explores the facets of Ricky's fragile personality. You feel for him when he asks his many conquests what they would do if he were to commit suicide. It's shocking the reactions he gets from some people and others just don't take him seriously.

The Houseboy isn't the kind of move that you're likely to want to rewatch over and over but it is an interesting 80 minutes. The film is very much carried by Nick May and thankfully he manages to pull it off. The Houseboy may shock with its graphic sex scenes and drug use but don't let that put you off. The movie is worth watching and is different from anything else you're likely to see.