The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It's 1970 in a small New Mexico town. Dressed for the 1980s, a young couple checks into a motel room and squirrelly Brad Dourif (as Weasel) steals their reddish orange Lincoln Continental and some other stuff. He brings the booty to aggressive Paul L. Smith (as Slue) and his transvestite lover David Carradine (as Pearl). They don't like the black-and-white TV much, but discover a baby in the back seat of the car. After beating up the delivery man, Mr. Smith decides to feed the baby to his hogs. Threatening to leave him if he does, Ms. Carradine wants to keep the baby. They raise him as a son, but cut out his tongue as a precaution against too much crying, whining and backtalk. The kid grows up to be handsome Michael Griffin aka Michael Boston (as Sonny Boy)...Mainly, the story involves Mr. Griffin's problems adjusting. Given his upbringing, it's not surprising Griffin has issues. We get skylines, ceilings and lingering close-ups from director Robert Martin Carroll and his crew. One of Mr. Carroll's more interesting and effective segments has Griffin symbolically accepting Jesus Christ, "the blood of a good man," as his savior. Shortly after this, he starts acting like a doggie chimp. The dog-play is short-lived and the story proceeds as if no religious meaning was intended. Occasional narration and old TV movie-type soundtrack does not enlighten. The characters are memorable, but they don't tell us anything we don't already know. With time taking away this film's power to shock, there isn't much left.**** Sonny Boy (3/22/89) Robert Martin Carroll ~ Michael Boston, Paul L. Smith, David Carradine, Brad Dourif

Get hold of this film, any way you can (not illegally, of course). Scream its name from the rooftops of buildings everywhere, high or small, and offer prayers to your God for a fully-featured special edition DVD release. There is no film like Sonny Boy: even Leonard Maltin was moved to call it (I quote verbatim) "A repulsive, socially irredeemable waste of celluloid ... filmed for no apparent reason other to offend and appal", and if that isn't a recommendation for a cult movie, I don't know what is. Critics said similar things about Peeping Tom, A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, and so many more ... those films are amazing and entirely individual, and so is this. It's pitiful that Sonny Boy has so little recognition apart from a few right-thinking die hards - you don't have to like it, just admit you've never seen its like before or since. Get on the bandwagon speedily, because if I am human this film will, in the near future, be recognised for the angry, iconoclastic, unclassifiable explosion it really is. And you can be among those who educated the world. Feel the adrenaline. There.

This is the worst piece of garbage I've ever seen. A total waste of celluloid. What were they thinking? Stay away from this one. This belongs on somebody's "Top ten Worst Movies of All Time" list. Not even funny or cute, like Plan 9 from Outer Space. Abominable.

Sonny Boy is a one of a kind horror/comedy with an exceptional cast. Paul L. Smith (Midnight Express, Crimewave) plays his usual over-the-top man/monster role, David Carradine his transvestite wife, Brad Dourif (legend!) the aptly named Weasel, and Dourif's Cuckoo's Nest co-star Sydney Lassick, the slimy Charlie P. Michael Griffin is exceptional in the title role. Pity he didn't go on to do anything else. Maybe making Sonny Boy scarred him for life?! I also liked veteran Conrad Janis as one of the few non-repulsive characters in this, an alcoholic doctor with a liking for surgery involving monkey parts(!) Janis has had one eclectic career, working with everyone from Shirley Temple and Ronald Reagan to African bushman N!xau, from Mork And Mindy to The Cable Guy, but surely he must rate this as the weirdest project he's ever been involved in! And Brad Dourif has made more than his fair share of strange movies,not least of which Blue Velvet, but none as demented as this crazy mutha!I recommend Sonny Boy to bizarre movie lovers everywhere, and fans of Garth Ennis comics will find much to enjoy here, as it shares a similar gonzo humour to Preacher et al.