Worried About The Boy
Mad about the Boy? As part of BBC Two’s current '80s season (going for a while now, and still no interference from Roland Rat), comes this good-looking drama about the early (and sometimes later) life of a boy called George.
Written by Tony Basgallop, Worried About The Boy is soaked in the music that clearly would have made up Boy George’s style, even before he knew that he would become a musician - when a careers officer asks him what he’s better at than anything else, there’s a tangible pause before he gives the obvious answer. And then he gives another, entirely different, but equally obvious answer. The most iconic Culture Club song is almost - but not quite - played throughout. For those of us who remember Boy George as someone who was a bit pretty and a bit poppy, it’s an education to be reminded of how Punk his beginnings were, before New Romance really hit home.
It’s a remarkable performance from a beautiful looking Douglas Booth, all measured mannerisms and carefully made up expressions, but still unable to stop a silly little giggle whenever he gets nervous. In the end, though, it’s clear that George is as high maintenance as his hair. Matthew Horne, an actor who hasn’t always been allowed to prove that his own hype is justified, impresses here, and demonstrates that his casting isn’t just a populist choice, while Marc Warren is delicious as George’s sometime boss Stephen Strange. Getting hot and heavy with a new conquest in a phone box, who delivers the party line ‘I’m not really gay’, George gives us that giggle and refers to his killer outfit he’s wearing: ‘That’s alright, I’m not really a nun.’
It’s that wit that is evidence throughout the 90 minutes of this drama, leading to a cute scene when George and his ex-drummer/ex-lover mourn the passing of the New Romantic era, saying that you can get Pirate shirts on the High Street these days: ‘Nobody even throws things at me in the street anymore’. And when it’s not about what people are saying, it’s about how they’re saying it. And finally, how they look: ‘You, Petal’ a friend tells him, ‘are what a straight man thinks a gay man looks like.’
This, for the most part, examines George’s life in between the moments of fame: as a cloakroom attendant at the (in)famous Blitz Club (a job he gets with the best answer to the question ‘Why do you want this job?') to hiding out in his own house while tabloid paps are camped outside when stories of his drug addiction break.
You’ll have seen the trailer that ramps up the level of pain, misery and loneliness in this boy’s life ('Do You Really Want To Hurt Me', indeed) - that’s there, certainly. But this is essentially a joyous, triumphant depiction of his successes. Plus, we get the glorious sight of Mark Gatiss having great fun playing the recently deceased Malcolm MacClaren. You get the impression that George O’Dowd himself wouldn’t throw a tantrum over this. Enjoy - with a nice cup of tea.
Airs at 9pm on Sunday 16th May 2010 on BBC Two.
Released on DVD on 5th July 2010 by Universal Playback.
Reviewed by Andrew Allen.
