After the demented excesses of The Devils this comes as a sharp contrast, lacking in the sexual and bombast that mark his other films. This is a unique film that will probably not find many modern viewers. Telling the duel story of a production of The Boyfriend and stage manager Polly, these two threads will occasionally intersect in the mind of a director named De Thrill who sits and watches from a box seat, imagining how it might look on the silver screen with a bigger budget. It sets off a series of sequences that gets us away from the low-rent stage performance. It is a charming film with a wonderful cast. The chemistry between Twiggy and Christopher Gable is very sweet. For the casual Ken Russell fan it might seem very light and superficial but he was a director one always expect the unexpected. He defied any attempt at being pigeonholed as many other directors, finding a comfortable niche to crank out a repetitive series of films. The Boyfriend is that curve ball that catches you off guard. It's a among a handful of musicals I can tolerate and the songs actually add something of value to either the story or characters.
Review of The Boy Friend
