I have seen many weird movies at this point that it’s hard to shock me in any substantial way. However, I always admire a filmmaker going for broke, and indulging on their stranger impulses. Butt Boy is hardly the wildest movie I’ve ever seen, but I can see it being so for many people who might stumble upon it while looking for something to watch on demand. If you haven’t heard of it, then that leaves me in the awkward position of describing the film, which is frankly the where your interest in the film will either be heightened or completely diminished.
In Butt Boy, we meet Chip (Tyler Cornack), a detatched man who works a dull IT job at a corporate office, and is in a loveless marriage with his wife, Anne (Shelby Dash). One day, during a routine prostate exam, something in him is awaken, leading to him discovering a new…uh…let’s call it desire. He puts things up his butt. And these aren’t just relegated to small objects either, he even puts dogs and kids up there too. But he realizes this is being a problem, so after a failed suicide attempt, he goes to AA meetings.
This is where our real protagonist comes in, Russel Fox (Tyler Rice), a grizzled detective who joins AA some time after Chip has joined. Chip becomes his sponsor. And during a bring-your-kids-to-work day, Chip gets the urge once again after a long time, and sure enough, one of the kids disappears. Fox is assigned to the case, and looks into the office where the kid was last seen. Fox finds Chip’s behavior rather odd, and begins to suspect him of being involved, resulting in a game of cat-and-mouse, that leads Fox to discovering the terrible truth.
Yes, that’s the story, and on top of that, the film plays this completely straight with no actual joke beyond the inherent absurdity of its central premise. And it’s kind of great. What makes Butt Boy so special is how writer/director/star, Tyler Cornack, takes the conceit as far as he can within the confines of a dark, noir-ish thriller, and the craft behind it is remarkably solid. It’s construction is slick, the score is effectively moody, it maintains a strong balance between patient plotting and a propulsive sense of momentum as Fox gets closer and closer to what he needs to prove his bizarre theory.
The film is also a surprisingly solid portrait of two men who are dealing with addiction. Chip uses alcohol as a cover for his real addiction, obviously. On one hand you have someone who can’t seem to help but give in to his impulses, and then you have Fox who is seeking help, and is trying not to get back on the wagon, even as the stress of the investigation pushes him further into the edge. It’s not the most thought provoking through line, but it does ground the absurdity on some semblance of reality that one could relate to.
There isn’t much else to say about Butt Boy. It just is what it is, and what it is might definitely be a huge turn-off for most people. However, if you’re able to get into its weird wavelength, you will be immensely entertained by its commitment to the bit. The two leads are giving strong performances. I especially enjoyed Rice’s intense approach to the stereotypical damaged detective character. Not that dissimilar to one of my favorite films of last year The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot, I’m sure some might not like the way the filmmakers decided to handle the premise, but for me, I loved that the film went full genre instead of farce. This film doesn’t reach the heights of that for me, but it still provides a wildly fun time that I can’t imagine I’ll be forgetting about anytime soon.