House of Boys
Metascore
40 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    Sep 22, 2011
    60
    The performances have heart, and a sorrowful tenderness courses through the self-described "fairy tale," even at its kitschiest.
  2. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Steve Ramos
    Jul 30, 2011
    60
    There's nothing wrong with social message melodramas that tackle the AIDS crisis and certainly not every gay release has to please crowds like "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but Schlim has a good-time movie with a likable cast.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    Jul 28, 2011
    50
    A gay tragedy in three acts and more than a dozen excellent songs, House of Boys conveys an emotional honesty that overrides its dated style.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Eric Henderson
    Jul 26, 2011
    50
    Call me crazy-stupid, but locker-room anal sex aside, didn't Christina Aguilera just enact this scenario last fall in "Burlesque"?
  5. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    Jul 27, 2011
    40
    Thesping is more engaging than accomplished, as Anderson's constant smile cracks around the edges and Northover's dourness is a bit overdone.
  6. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Andrew Schenker
    Jul 26, 2011
    40
    And yet, for all its hanging on the details of the boys' heavily eroticized performances and its graphing of the relationships between the young performers, the film is at once too drawn out and underdeveloped.
  7. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    Jul 29, 2011
    20
    Once AIDS rears its head, this nostalgic look back goes into melodrama mode - and quickly descends from bad to much, much worse.

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