Movie

The Boys Next Door

1996 · 98 min

A gentle, heartfelt look at friendship and care that balances warmth with honest moments of struggle.

Directed by: John Erman
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Tv movie
Starring: Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Tony Goldwyn

Tagline: Sometimes being a little different means being a lot more wonderful.
Overview: Kind-hearted social worker Jack Palmer feels guilty about not spending enough time with his wife due to the pressures of his job taking care of four developmentally disabled men: obsessive-compulsive Norman, bipolar Arnold, childlike Lucien, and schizophrenic Barry. When Jack announces his decision to leave his job, his four charges react quite unexpectedly to the news.

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Add to a list: The Boys Next Door

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: John Erman
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Tv movie
Starring: Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Tony Goldwyn

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: warmstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
lightstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: friendship
family
identity
isolation
healing
Places: home
workplace
Era: contemporary
Audience: teen
Form: ensemble
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	0
Humour	5
Realism	7
Romance	2
Tension	3
Darkness	3
Complexity	4
Emotional weight	7

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: comedy, drama, tv movie
Directed by: John Erman
Written by: William Blinn
Starring: Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Jeter, Courtney B. Vance, Mare Winningham, Elizabeth Wilson, Richard Jenkins
Music: John Kander
Cinematography: Frank Tidy
Runtime: 98 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

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The Boys Next Door

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Where to watch in the UK

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