''The Boys Are Back'' is a 2009

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

Scott Hicks Scott Hicks may refer to: * Scott Hicks (basketball) (born 1966), American former college basketball coach * Scott Hicks (director) Robert Scott Hicks (born 4 March 1953), known as Scott, is an Australian film director, producer and screenwrit ...

, produced by Greg Brenman and starring

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

. It is based on the 2001 memoir, ''The Boys Are Back in Town'', by Simon Carr.

Plot

Joe Warr (

) is a British sportswriter who lives in Australia with his second wife and

horse jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...

, Katy (

Laura Fraser Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'', Kate in the film ''A Knight's Tale'', Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series ''Lip Service'' and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle i ...

) and his young son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). Katy is diagnosed with cancer and dies, forcing Joe to cope with the responsibilities of being a single parent. Joe's teenage son from his first marriage, Harry ( George MacKay), feels abandoned in the United Kingdom with his mother. Harry uses Katy's death as an opportunity to try to build a relationship with his father, coming to visit him in Australia. Although Harry is initially unnerved by the lack of discipline in the house, he eventually forms a strong bond with Artie, while struggling to foster a closer relationship with Joe. When Joe is forced by work to leave his sons alone in the house for a night, local teenagers throw a party at the house against both boys' will. With the house ransacked, Harry flies back to England because he no longer feels safe living with Joe. Joe and Artie go after him. After much discussion, Joe convinces Harry to move to Australia on a permanent basis. The trio return to Australia, and together shoulder the responsibilities of running the household without a female influence.

Cast

as Joe Warr *

as Katy *

Emma Lung Emma Lung (born 14 January 1982) is an Australian actress. Early life and education Born in Sydney, Lung's father is half-Chinese; his father (Emma's paternal grandfather) was born near Beijing. Lung's mother is Scottish and French. Growing up ...

as Mia * Nicholas McAnulty as Artie * George MacKay as Harry *

Julia Blake Julia Blake (born 1936) is an English–born Australian actress. She is known for her small screen role as Nancy McCormack on the Australian drama series ''Prisoner'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), for which she appeared during the final season ...

as Barbara * Emma Booth as Laura *

Erik Thomson Erik Thomson is a Scottish-born New Zealand-Australian actor. He is known for playing Hades in the television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', ''Xena Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules'', Dr. Mitch Stevens in '' All Saints'' a ...

as Digby *

Natasha Little Natasha Emma Little (born 2 October 1969) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Edith Thompson in the film '' Another Life'', Lady Caroline Langbourne in the BBC miniseries ''The Night Manager'', and Christina Moxam in the B ...

as Flick * Alexandra Schepisi as Mother * Adam Morgan as Journalist *

Tommy Bastow Thomas Derek Bastow (born 26 August 1991) is an English actor and musician from Epsom, Surrey. He is best known for playing the character Dave the Laugh in Paramount Pictures' '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'', as Joe in the British Telec ...

as Ben *

Luke O'Loughlin Luke O'Loughlin (born 23 December 1985) is an Australian musician and former actor. O'Loughlin was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to former model Tanya Powell of Tanya Powell Model Agency, and is a graduate of University Senior College. ...

as Bree

Production

The script of ''The Boys Are Back'' was based on the 2001 memoir, ''The Boys Are Back in Town'', by Simon Carr, adapted by

Allan Cubitt Allan Cubitt was previously a teacher at John Ruskin High School, Croydon during the 1980s teaching English who became a British television, film, and theatre writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on '' Prime Suspect II'' and '' T ...

. The film was directed by

, produced by Greg Brenman and stars

. It features a score composed by

Hal Lindes Hal Andrew Lindes is an American–English guitarist and film score composer. In 1979, he played guitar with the new wave group Darling. Signed to Charisma Records, they released the single "Do You Wanna" (written by Lindes) and published th ...

Release

The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 22 January 2010.

Reception

, the film holds a 73% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Great performances by Clive Owen and ''The Boys'' save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands."

Box office

''The Boys Are Back'' grossed at the box office in Australia, and US$809,752 in the United States, grossing US$3,185,839 worldwide.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boys Are Back 2009 films 2009 drama films Australian drama films British drama films HanWay Films films Drama films based on actual events Films set in South Australia Films shot in Adelaide Films about father–son relationships Films about grieving Films about widowhood Films directed by Scott Hicks 2000s English-language films Screen Australia films 2000s British films