Boston Kickout [VHS]

I'm giving the movie the maximum number of stars, but do not buy the Region 1 version. It has absolutely no extras. Get Region 2 (and a multi-region DVD player ... it may also work on your PC). It's loaded with them.

This is a powerful movie exploring important and pervasive themes of our humanity. It is not merely about disenfranchised youth as some have commented, although that is the primary story. It is also about how fragile we all are, and how even our parents are incapable of transcending their own failures. From suicide to a gradual decent into mental ill-health, the characters are forced to adapt, although some know that in order to break out of the destructive cycle they find themselves in, they need to remove themselves from the very environment in which they find acceptance and identity. If they don't then the pervasive violence, corruption, alcoholism and human defeat, will overwhelm them. Phil (John Simm) knows this, although he is unsure of how to break free of both his past and his present. He looks after his alcoholic father, who seems to have accepted his unfortunate state of affairs. Yet there is genuine affection between the two, as they are both tragically affected by the death of his mother. Ted (Andrew Lincoln) is perhaps the brightest of the lot, and his choice to 'disappear' is only understood towards the end of the movie. He leaves not to abandon his friends, or their lives together, but to mould an identity and way of life for himself. If he stayed, he would be absorbed into the perpetual cycle of drink, drugs and temporary gratification, without any means or vision allowing for a different future.Phil too must make a decision, as his life sits on the cutting edge of both destruction and purpose. Will he make the right choice, or will he become absorbed by those around him. Will he in defeat accept his lot, and merely survive the dull life of Stevenage. Or will he refuse to allow such, and rage against the life which seeks to hold him back?Powerfully told, with excellent casting and acting. A horribly under-rated gem of a movie.

For those of us who actually remember the 80s and 90s this film is both hilarious and harrowing (especially as those dark days seem about to repeat themselves).John Simm is excellent as the troubled young man lost not only in the cultural wilderness that was Stevenage, but also between school and work, boy and man, working and middle class and passive and aggressive.The complex relationships between this group of young men, their shifting alliances,and struggles for status is intelligently written and convincingly acted....although Mark warren is really too civilized and coherent to totally carry-off the 'skinhead' role.This is a well-crafted film which achieves a good balance between comedy and 'darker' themes. The comedy works on several levels - watch the backgrounds, especially in 'crowd scenes' and 'pub scenes'....setting the pool table on fire actually happened in at least one London pub I knew in the 80s!Well worth 4 stars - and would have scored 5 had it known been for the 'Irish connection'....one day someone will set a film in Éire without feeling obliged to include traditional music / ceilidhs etc etc...it's actually the very last thing that anyone in Éire was going to in the 90s...much more likely to have been a country and western night, disco or kareoke...that said, this is still a powerful piece of film-making which stands up to more than one viewing. Some moments will linger long after the credits have rolled.

Made in 1996 on the back of films like Trainspotting, Boston Kickout is an edgy, realistic drama of the time. The story is about Phil who moved to the town out of London in the 80s. He doesn't quite know where his life is headed and he and his friends spend much of their time drinking and getting into fights. His mate's brother goes a step further and is trying to entice Phil into assisting him in a robbery.If you are from Stevenage you will love spotting the local sights and being a bit anoracky about the local nightclub having an entrance at the other side of the town centre. If you aren't from Stevenage, you may find the references to it and the scenes in the museum a bit OTT. On the whole I would say it was a reasonable representation of how young people felt growing up in the 90s in Stevenage (and probably towns up and down the country) although it has made things out to be a bit worse than they were, for dramatic effect. Look out for one of the only sex scenes in a film where they practice safe sex! Three of the cast have gone onto bigger and better things (John Simm, Andrew Lincoln & Marc Warren) and I suspect this film was a good training ground for them. Also look out for Eastenders' Charlie Slater playing Phil's Dad. There is an interesting Oasis track on the end credits that seems like it may have been written for the film.On the whole it is a watchable film and a good effort when you consider the low budget and the young cast. A must-watch for people from Stevenage.

This was, and is quite an overlooked little film, which was released just after Trainspotting. On the surface it seems it was trying to capitalize on it's success, but they're really worlds apart. It has a great cast, Marc Warren steals the show as Rob, a pseudo-punk yob who creates havoc for himself and his friends. I won't ruin the plot for you, but there are some quite unsettling moments. John Simm (Life on Mars, 24hour party people) also stars as the protagonist. Definitely worth watching

This film is OK. But it is one of them films that sort of goes nowhere. You keep on thinking it is gonna get better, but it is right at the end that the characters develop. I only bought it as it is very cheap now and I would not pay any more.