Now, before you think I'm just part of some uptight moral majority that posts disgust at any film that goes beyond the pale, let me just state for the record that I'm really not easily offended. It's not so much the constant homophobia, racism & sexism in 'The Choirboys' that really got my goat (reprehensible though much of this is). It's the sheer, unabashed hypocricy that this film displays that really got this viewer steaming...
'The Choirboys'' would simply LOVE to convince you that it's a wild, anti-establishment, anarchic comedy-drama a la Robert Altman's 'MASH', when in reality it's simply one of the most morally conservative, shockingly reactionary and damned mean-spirited movies released to theatres during the 1970's. I'm surprised that William Friedkin's movie 'Cruising' is still remembered today as the ultimate in offensive stereotyping - viewing it now, it just seems too arch, OTT and plain ridiculous to really take seriously. But 'The Choirboys' does indeed remain as repugnant today as the day it was released (and disavowed by it's author).
*SPOILERS* The tone in the movie is chaotic, to say the least: from the sub-'Police Academy' comedy sequences (painful) to the soap-opera level intelligence of the supposedly raw, dramatic moments (which range from mildly offensive to "what the hell were they thinking?"). And the ending? Well, a Vietnam Vet cop (who feels guilty about causing the suicide of his 'pervert' friend, just coz the poor guy liked a bit of private, consensual S&M), freaks out and shoots "a park fag" in the neck, and we then witness the central character (Charles Durning) get everyone off of the ensuing murder charge - and director Aldrich swiftly makes it clear that we're supposed to be cheering these b**tards on! - (cue end titles, which run to a soundtrack of the main cast sneering and laughing maniacally in turn... which is disturbing on WAAAAY more levels than the film-makers planned, let me tell you). *SPOILERS END*
No doubt the filmmakers themselves, alongside a handful of critics, will have you believe that 'hey - this is the way it really is', and that 'The Choirboys' is in fact some gritty, underrated urban classic that refuses to pull it's punches. Balls. 'The Choirboys' is a rabid dog of a movie - a cackling, vitriolic excercise that seems to hate modernity, reality and humanity itself. Don't degrade yourself by giving this disowned puppy two hours of your time...
'The Choirboys'' would simply LOVE to convince you that it's a wild, anti-establishment, anarchic comedy-drama a la Robert Altman's 'MASH', when in reality it's simply one of the most morally conservative, shockingly reactionary and damned mean-spirited movies released to theatres during the 1970's. I'm surprised that William Friedkin's movie 'Cruising' is still remembered today as the ultimate in offensive stereotyping - viewing it now, it just seems too arch, OTT and plain ridiculous to really take seriously. But 'The Choirboys' does indeed remain as repugnant today as the day it was released (and disavowed by it's author).
*SPOILERS* The tone in the movie is chaotic, to say the least: from the sub-'Police Academy' comedy sequences (painful) to the soap-opera level intelligence of the supposedly raw, dramatic moments (which range from mildly offensive to "what the hell were they thinking?"). And the ending? Well, a Vietnam Vet cop (who feels guilty about causing the suicide of his 'pervert' friend, just coz the poor guy liked a bit of private, consensual S&M), freaks out and shoots "a park fag" in the neck, and we then witness the central character (Charles Durning) get everyone off of the ensuing murder charge - and director Aldrich swiftly makes it clear that we're supposed to be cheering these b**tards on! - (cue end titles, which run to a soundtrack of the main cast sneering and laughing maniacally in turn... which is disturbing on WAAAAY more levels than the film-makers planned, let me tell you). *SPOILERS END*
No doubt the filmmakers themselves, alongside a handful of critics, will have you believe that 'hey - this is the way it really is', and that 'The Choirboys' is in fact some gritty, underrated urban classic that refuses to pull it's punches. Balls. 'The Choirboys' is a rabid dog of a movie - a cackling, vitriolic excercise that seems to hate modernity, reality and humanity itself. Don't degrade yourself by giving this disowned puppy two hours of your time...