''Poster Boy'' is a 2004 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Zak Tucker and starring

Matt Newton Matthew Newton (born May 11, 1977) is an American actor, filmmaker and acting coach. Personal life Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Newton was raised in Guilford, Connecticut. He is the son of Thomas Newton and Jennifer Newton (nee. Chase), who ...

Karen Allen Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she lat ...

, Michael Lerner, and

Jack Noseworthy Jack Evan Noseworthy Jr. (born December 21, 1964) is an American actor known for his roles in ''Event Horizon'', '' U-571'', '' Barb Wire'' and ''Killing Kennedy''. Early life Noseworthy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Boston Cons ...

. It toured the gay and lesbian

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

circuit beginning in 2004 before a limited theatrical release in 2006.

Plot

The film opens with Henry Kray being interviewed by a reporter about the events about to unfold on-screen. Henry is the son of a powerful and conservative

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Senator Kray has gained a national reputation in part by attacking

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. Unknown to the senator, Henry is gay. The senator plans to kick off his re-election campaign at a luncheon at Henry's college campus and he expects Henry to deliver his introduction. Henry's sexuality is something of an open secret around campus, to the extent that the campus gay activist group has created a chart of his many sexual partners. The night before Senator Kray is scheduled to arrive, Henry has sex with Anthony, a former

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

activist who's drifted away from activism. The day of the speech, Anthony is approached by a campus activist who wants to enlist his help in

outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

Henry. Anthony and his friend Izzie have an argument about it and Izzie (who is

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-positive) storms off. She's hit by the limousine transporting the senator and his wife Eunice. The senator's party brings her along with them and Eunice takes a shine to her. She gives Izzie a suit and invites her along for the luncheon. Henry invites Anthony as well, insisting that he sit at the dais with him. Henry introduces his father, who begins his speech. As the speech continues, Henry stands up, pulls Anthony to his feet and kisses him in full view of the national media, outing himself before the activists have the chance to. In the firestorm of controversy, the Senator and his team decide to

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

the event by stressing that the Senator still loves his gay son. Meanwhile, one of the campus activists congratulates Anthony for outing Henry, and even though Henry decided to "out" himself, the bond of trust that had started to form between him and Anthony shatters. The film closes with Henry summarizing the aftermath. He and Anthony never see each other again, Izzie has died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

and the Senator won re-election despite, or perhaps because of, the controversy.

Cast

as Henry Kray *

as Eunice Kray * Michael Lerner as Jack Kray *

as Anthony * Valerie Geffner as Izzie * Ian Reed Kesler as Skip Franklin * Austin Lysy as Parker

Production

Some scenes were shot on campus at

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

Awards and nominations

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

Grand Jury Award Best Screenwriting - Ryan Shiraki and Lecia Rosenthal (winner) *

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

Golden Leopard - Zak Tucker (nominated)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poster Boy 2004 films 2004 drama films American drama films American LGBT-related films Films shot in California 2000s English-language films HIV/AIDS in American films American independent films 2004 independent films 2004 LGBT-related films 2000s American films