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Beautiful Thing

Play trailer Poster for Beautiful Thing R 1996 1h 29m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Shy Jamie (Glen Berry) and athletic Ste (Scott Neal) are teen boys who live near each other in the London projects. Both boys think they could be gay, and finally explore their feelings when Ste is allowed to stay over at Jamie's place after an incident with his abusive father. There, the boys grow close and open themselves up to the idea of homosexuality, while Jamie's caring mother, Sandra (Linda Henry), and quirky teen neighbor, Leah (Tameka Empson), offer much needed emotional support.
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Beautiful Thing

Beautiful Thing

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Critics Consensus

An engaging slice of life drama that happens to double as a gay coming-of-age story, Beautiful Thing captures its place and time with deceptive depth and skill.

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Critics Reviews

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Eric Henderson Slant Magazine 04/27/2003
Beautiful Thing might be the most beloved of all the gay-youth movies released in the late 90s Go to Full Review
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times 02/14/2001
Because the film is so effective for its first two-thirds and because it has its heart in the right place throughout, audiences may be willing to forgive its final third. Go to Full Review
Jeff Millar Houston Chronicle 01/01/2000
If Beautiful Thing were any more sensitive, it would faint. Go to Full Review
Joe Lipsett The Queer Gaze (Podcast) 07/10/2024
This slice of gay coming of age film is quintessentially British. Some elements haven't aged particularly well, but the film's use of Mama Cass, and the character's tentative steps towards acceptance are solid. Plus: Ben Daniels! Go to Full Review
Lee Hanson & Anthony Bell Our Own Community Press (Norfolk, VA) 05/03/2023
Beautiful Thing is a four-star mix of joy, discovery, survival, and humor. Go to Full Review
Nick Levine NME (New Musical Express) 05/10/2021
It's still heartwarming to see Ste (Scott Neal) and Jamie (Glen Berry), two teenage boys from a tough south London estate, fall in love and win acceptance from their friends and neighbours. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Michael V 06/01/2024 An urban fairytale. Beautiful Thing is a 1996 British romantic comedy film directed by Hettie MacDonald 🪩 It’s ok, but I feel mixed about this one 😉 I’d recommend it if you like this genre, but if not then probably give it a miss 👍🏼👎🏼 S Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, three teenagers edge towards adulthood. See more 05/05/2024 Such a nice movie. Cute plot. Not too dramatic but not underwhelming. Reccomend. See more Robson C 01/04/2024 Jaime e Ste são vizinhos em um conjunto habitacional em um subúrbio de Londres. Jaime foge das aulas de Educação Física e sofre bullying dos colegas. Ste é o típico atleta e todos gostam dele, porém na sua casa sofre violência nas mãos do seu pai e do seu irmão mais velho. Uma noite, a mãe de Jaime encontra Ste chorando e expulso do seu apartamento. Ela o acolhe e o convida adormir junto com seu filho. Aos poucos, os dois jovens vão desenvolvendo sentimentos um pelo outro. Temos aqui uma simpática e modesta comédia inglesa que trata da descoberta da sexualidade por dois garotos e o impacto disso na comunidade ao seu redor. O roteiro é muito bem escrito, com personagens bem desenvolvidos. E o nosso interesse acaba caindo nos personagens secundários: a mãe de Jaime que criou o filho sozinha e que tenta melhorar de vida, mas você percebe que ela é uma mulher que adora uma balada; Tony, o namorado da mãe de Jaime, que se mostra um homem sensível e preocupado com as pessoas ao redor e Leah, uma menina negra fã de Mama Cass, a melhor personagem do filme, muito bem interpretada por Tameka Empson. Sobre o elenco, ele é muito bom, não possui nomes conhecidos, mas todos entregam um excelente trabalho. É uma comédia, mas não espere dar gargalhadas. O humor está mais nas situações que permitem um sorriso. Algumas pessoas podem considerar que tudo é um pouco rápido, mas elas devem se lembrar que os personagens já se conhecem há muito tempo e que foi um evento que levou a descoberta de tudo por Jaime e Steve. A cena final encerra de maneira poética o filme, convidando a todos a se juntarem Jaime e Ste e sonharem um pequeno sonho com eles. See more PridePosterStudios 09/20/2023 “…cos it’s got a bloody great pink neon arse outside of it!” See more isla s 09/01/2022 I found this a surprisingly sweet film, mainly focussing on companionship as well as sexuality but it doesn't feature any graphic sexual content. However, there is quite a lot of strong language and some sex references. There were some fairly amusing moments too but I'd say the topics were dealt with quite well. I thought this was a pretty decent, understated British film thats worth a watch, if only for the 90s nostalgia and/or for the music played, such as 'Dream A Little Dream of Me' by The Mamas and the Papas and numerous tracks by 'Mama Cass', Cass Elliot, like 'Make Your Own Kind of Music'. See more tom m 11/14/2021 This is one of those mystifying selections by Netflix DVD where they pull something from way, way down in my queue. They, unfortunately, seem to be doing that more and more frequently. In any case, back to this film … It is reasonably well-ranked on internet sites (e.g., Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB). I'm not sure why. I found the story telling pretty slow. The ending was nice and redeemed the story a little, but not enough. Oh well, you win some … See more Read all reviews
Beautiful Thing

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Shy Jamie (Glen Berry) and athletic Ste (Scott Neal) are teen boys who live near each other in the London projects. Both boys think they could be gay, and finally explore their feelings when Ste is allowed to stay over at Jamie's place after an incident with his abusive father. There, the boys grow close and open themselves up to the idea of homosexuality, while Jamie's caring mother, Sandra (Linda Henry), and quirky teen neighbor, Leah (Tameka Empson), offer much needed emotional support.
Director
Hettie MacDonald
Producer
Tony Garnett, Bill Shapter
Screenwriter
Jonathan Harvey
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Channel Four Films, World Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 25, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.5M
Runtime
1h 29m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
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