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Harry and Max

Released Feb 18, 2005 1h 13m Drama List
5% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 20% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Two brothers (Bryce Johnson, Cole Williams) who have musical talent demonstrate an incestuous attraction to each other.
Harry and Max

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Despite impressive performances from its leads, Harry and Max is prurient, disturbing, and underdeveloped.

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Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Scott Tobias AV Club Though Williams and Johnson fit comfortably into the European naturalism that's become Mnch's stock in trade, they can't quite wriggle out of his high-concept premise and become plausibly real. Sep 26, 2005 Full Review Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle Seems like the work of a novice, with self-conscious expository passages and emotionally false conversations. Rated: 0/4 Apr 29, 2005 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times To consider Harry and Max as being about incestuous feelings would be shortchanging it, because the film is really about the evolving nature of love and the need to define it. Rated: 4/5 Mar 24, 2005 Full Review Brad Slager Film Threat As disturbing and unsettling as the subject matter is what is truly sad is that the performances of the two leads were impressive and they ended up being wasted by the trash content of the script. Rated: 1.5/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Rob Blackwelder SPLICEDWire ...incest...pedophilia...the film seems to be nothing more than an attempt to affirm a sense of I'm-OK-you're-OK normality for any viewers with such issues in their own lives. Rated: 2/4 Apr 29, 2005 Full Review David Noh Film Journal International You watch this prurient would-be porn, treated with kid-glove 'sensitivity,' in a state of disbelief. Mar 24, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Una rara relación entre dos hermanos el morbo lo tiene el que se dice que esta basada en Nick Carter y su hermano Aaron Carter. En definitiva el amor es el amor. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Forgetting the taboo subject matter of the film, overall it seemed like it tried to be more daring that it was actually willing to be. Cole Williams provided a strong performance but the script was just not strong enough. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member I feel like this movie was trying too hard to ride on shock value and controversy. Which is a shame because the subject matter does not crop up often, and in cinema, tough subject matter often inspires good directing and writing. Not so with Harry and Max. With utterly average direction, and dialogue writing so false it's laughable, Harry and Max is a desperate parody of a teen romance/drama trying anxiously to tease some meaning out of what is ultimately a story lacking in any real substance. The use of writing on the screen to deal with issues such as the move to New York, or the fact that the camping trip moved from tent to back of car rather than incorporating it into dialogue (I mean: "The next morning (It got cold at night)"? Really?) just was a bad decision. Pure and simple. Not content with not knowing when to use dialogue, the writer also misused it whenever he could. The characters were flat and uninteresting, the supporting characters might as well have not even been there. The treatment of the subject matter was insensitive to gays, insensitive to victims of incest, and more importantly, it was boring. The film was not simply bad, it was pedestrian. The lead actors did their best with a bad film, but I can't help but wonder what it could have been if instead of tripping over itself trying to decide what it actually felt about incest and pedophilia (I seriously couldn't tell), it just dropped the brothers angle and the yoga instructor subplot altogether and told a story about teen idols, gay romance, and ultimately why liking someone isn't good enough, they have to be good for you too. If you want a decent LGBT themed film, this is not it. Harry and Max's failures are compounded by tantalising glimpses at what this film could have been in the hands of a talented director and writing team. All in all, despite casting good-looking, talented leads, nothing could save this utter trainwreck of a film. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Kudos for trying to really break taboos, but director Christopher Munch does the actors no service by bogging them down in a script made up of convoluted motives. This one leaves you hanging, and doesn't earn its ambiguity. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Ehh, could've been better. Subject matter was interesting but there wasn't enough done with it. Oh, and the ending sucked. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Albeit disturbing subject matter, oh wait...not really that disturbing compared to typical hollywood fanfare of killing, murder and mayhem, this film was kinda calm and quiet in it's own way. Yeah some may feel that it's boring but at times boring can be good. However that doesn't mean lack in acting or even bad script. I would wish there is a more deeper emotional charge between the actors and not just talk talk talk...But I still find Bryce Johnson to be soooooo delish! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Harry and Max

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two brothers (Bryce Johnson, Cole Williams) who have musical talent demonstrate an incestuous attraction to each other.
Director
Christopher Munch
Producer
Roni Deitz, Christopher Munch
Screenwriter
Christopher Munch
Distributor
TLA Releasing
Production Co
Antarctic Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 18, 2005, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Jul 19, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA)
$14.9K
Runtime
1h 13m