''Ratboy'' is a 1986 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by and starring

Sondra Locke Sandra Louise Anderson (''née'' Smith; May 28, 1944 – November 3, 2018), professionally known as Sondra Locke, was an American actress and director. She achieved worldwide recognition for her relationship with Clint Eastwood and the six hit f ...

. The make-up effects were designed by

Rick Baker Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeu ...

. The film's scenario is at times

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

or serious, and one of its peculiarities is that there never is any explanation for Ratboy's origin and existence as a human-rat hybrid. Principal photography started on September 6, 1985, and ended in October 1985. ''Ratboy'' had a troubled production and was both a critical and commercial failure.

Synopsis

A former

window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as "window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department s ...

named Nikki overhears mention of a mysterious "Ratboy" named Soma while

dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is n ...

at a dump. After finding and befriending him, Nikki makes several attempts at marketing his uniqueness to the public. At the same time, Soma wishes to avoid public attention.

Cast

as Nikki Morrison *

Sharon Baird Sharon Baird is an American actress, voice actress, singer, dancer and puppeteer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer. Early life Baird was born August 16, 1943 Seattle, Washington to Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Mar ...

as Soma Julius Cruz / Ratboy (as S.L. Baird) ** Gordon Anderson as the voice of Eugene/Ratboy * Robert Townsend as Manny *

Christopher Hewett Christopher George Hewett (5 April 1921 – 3 August 2001) was an English actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere on the ABC sitcom ''Mr. Belvedere''. Career Hewett was born in Worthing, Sussex to Chris ...

as Acting Coach *

Larry Hankin Larry Hankin (born ) is an American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer. He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in ...

as Robert Jewell *

Sydney Lassick Sydney Lassick (July 23, 1922 – April 12, 2003) was an American character actor perhaps best known for his role as Charlie Cheswick in the feature film '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest''. Lassick's first name was sometimes spelled ''Sidney' ...

as Lee 'Dial-A-Prayer' *

Gerrit Graham Gerrit Graham (born November 27, 1949) is an American stage, television, and film actor as well as a scriptwriter and songwriter. He is best known for his appearances in multiple films by Brian De Palma as well as appearances in two ''Star Trek'' ...

as Billy Morrison *

Louie Anderson Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. Anderson created the cartoon series ''Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom ''The Louie Show'', and wrote four ...

as Omer Morrison *

Billie Bird Billie Bird Sellen (February 28, 1908 – November 27, 2002), better known professionally as Billie Bird, was an American actress and comedian. She played Margie in '' Dear John'' (1988–1992). Early life Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was ...

as Psychic *

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense reali ...

as Heavy * Charles Bartlett as Catullus Cop *

Tim Thomerson Joseph Timothy "Tim" Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the ''Trancers'' film series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and for his comedic television r ...

as Alan Reynolds (uncredited)

Marketing

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' shaved six years off Sondra Locke's age in an article to promote the film.

Release

The film was given a limited opening in only two cities, Los Angeles and New York.

Reception

The film has a 'rotten' rating of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave it two out of four stars, calling the film 'perplexing' and criticizing the film's unique premise devolving into a more standard narrative. Janet Maslin of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film 'disorganized', criticizing the script and directing choices of Locke. On the opposite end, Michael Wilmington of ''The Los Angeles Times'' was more positive, calling the film, 'Grimm Brothers-style, mixing wonder with rough edges, undertones of pain beneath the fantasy.'

Awards

Sondra Locke received a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

nomination for Worst Actress.

References

External links

* * 1986 films Warner Bros. films Films directed by Sondra Locke 1986 drama films American drama films Malpaso Productions films Films scored by Lennie Niehaus 1986 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-US-film-stub