White Frog (2012) Online

Nick Yung has a brother whom he adores, and he has Aspbergers. He comes from a seemingly perfect American/Oriental family, but perfection's not all it's cracked up to be.

On the death of his brother, life starts to unravel and he slowly uncovers the truth that lies just beneath the perfect veneer of his life.

Nick conquers his differences and goes on a journey to discover that not only do people keep secrets, but that uncovering those secrets can set you free and make you whole.

The acting in this film is terrific, especially from the young man who played Nick so well. It's a lovely little film that made me smile and cry in all the right places.

Well worth a viewing.

Undoubted this is the best gay movie I've ever seen in my life and believe me I've watched quite a few of them over the last 52 Years.

What's making this movie special is not only the acting of the young man playing the role of a disabled younger brother; all other actors as well are doing a wonderful job in portraying their characters.

No matter what race, religion or believe it meets everyone's difficulty in showing who and what you really are. We're just human and that's all there is to it, not more and not less.

We're all week inside of us, but at the same time we can all be strong if we strive for it and finally find the courage to be it.

Allow me to make a final remark. I've never written a review, but decided to do it due to the fact that I was so impressed!

I enjoyed this film. Not an ounce of me regrets seeing this film (perhaps a small ounce, because it's 2 AM and my sleeping schedule is pretty horrific), and it certainly is going to stay with me, because the message behind it is pretty strong and it's a gem on Netflix's Gay & Lesbian section compared to some of the garbage offered there.

The performances are great, and I especially was impressed with Tyler Posey, who came off as ridiculously realistic and hardly seemed like he was "acting". All the actors seemed pretty good to me. Performances were no problem here.

The story itself is quite charming and worth sticking through: a boy with Aspergers idolizes his older brother, who is tragically killed in a car accident (don't consider this a spoiler, as it happens about ten minutes into the film and the entire plot revolves around this), leaving him with parents who have little idea as to how to connect with him. He begins to take comfort in his brother's friends, who take him under his wing as he learns more about his brother than he expected as he searches for answers and closure.

I enjoyed the film - honestly, I did - yet it has flaws that hold it back from being a "good" movie to being a "great" film. Simplistic things first: editing was not as fine tuned as it should have been, the sound editing and effects weren't particularly impressive, and the cinematography felt uninspired unless it was attempting for the "Indie" style.

Things holding it back: - The screenplay. It's not a bad screenplay, but the film lacks development of the friends of his brother (who are pretty central to the film) and often adds in characters and plots that don't seem to flow and may be tacked on. Scenes aren't developed - there's some sections of the film that can be used for incredibly strong character development, but the scenes seem to be cut short and nothing really adds up. It gave it some realism, but a strong in-depth look at the characters seem to missing. - Direction: again, nothing stands out. The actors are fine, but they all seem to be lacking instruction, physicality, line delivery, etc. This really held it back. For a first time feature it was passable, but in the future, get the actors to do more than "act". They need to flow and become the characters. Some actors have skill at this (i.e. Posey) and others need direction. Give it to them. - Certain things in general: because of the pacing and lack of development, there is no sense of connection or understanding what the characters are going through. I fell in love with these characters, but I should have been bawling when it ended. I felt a strange sense of sadness, but that was it.

I appreciated the focus an Asian-American family without having their race be part of who they are. How many times in movies are the Asians either villains, humorous, or "traditional parents with Americanized children"? I applaud the filmmakers for this alone, because there simply has to be more of this.

It's a great watch, but it screams to be let out of it's cages and be free. It begs to be on the level of Perks of Being a Wallflower in terms of impact and coming-of-age, but it doesn't hit the marks. It's ambitious yet leaves me wanting more from everything. Why are the characters the way they are? What makes them certain ways? How does their environment affect them? I wanted the friends to be more impacted by their friend's death (considering, you know, he's one of their best friends - especially a CERTAIN FRIEND) and have that be explored, but it never was.

Had this film been made years in the future when the filmmakers were more advanced and skilled, it'd be perfect. We have to settle for it being good, not great.

7/10

6.9 of 10. Classic indies have solid, sometimes great, stories that are carried out with a very low budget, but with a couple half-stars to keep it from complete obscurity and extended periods with actors who can't handle their characters. In this case, it's as if it was filmed, directed, and acted by an after-school special crew. Fortunately, there's a great story to integrate it all and seem natural.

Despite a rough, choppy start with abbreviated plot development, the film is highly watchable by half-way through, mixing humor and drama well. Only a few inconsistent performances and story elements to keep it from keeping you totally immersed.

There are not many movies, which can tell a story with little to no major effects. It is about being human and being alive and acceptance. Something which I feel is almost lost in our world today.

Allowing oneself and others to be different. I feel, this movie shows exactly where our society is heading - hiding behind a veil of lies. Pretending to be perfect, where perfection never can be met anyway.

Important for me mostly is, that it shows, that Aspergers or any form of being different, is mostly a label by society and then those affected, are pushed to live in a certain way - an invisible prison.

What a great piece of art. And this is how I see my world today

The idea of the "perfect" older son dying and leaving the parents and friends with the supposedly less than perfect second son, is hardly original … Stand by Me, for example, and the sibling rivalries in various James Dean movies. Having the second son burdened with a genuine disability is probably not that common. Having the younger disabled son cope with the posthumous outing of the older son as gay is, I'm pretty certain, a unique approach to the often told tale of a teenager coming out. The story concept is the best thing about White Frog and the result has failed to capitalize on the potential.

The attempt to link the tale of the Vietnamese coconut frog to the character(s) in this movie seems a bit of a stretch … possibly a (failed) attempt to introduce an intellectual flavor of the inscrutable, exotic Orient to a movie that is really about a bunch of upper middle class Americans. Since none of the cast looks especially Vietnamese, the connection is even more tenuous. Maybe to some eyes "they" all look alike.

Booboo and especially the actors who played the friends and secret lover of Chaz were sufficiently charming to make the movie enjoyable … the rest of the characters, not so much. Through most of the movie the parents were annoying and heavy handed caricatures of parents behaving badly. The therapist who talked to Nick seemed to have modeled her character after a nagging Jewish or Asian grandmother who practices no-nonsense tough love. It didn't come across very well.

The occasional setting and final scenes in a community center run by a lesbian, funded at start-up in part by the deceased Chaz and whose members are oddly supportive for Nick, who they couldn't have known very well, was a little too much like something out of an old Judy Garland. Mickey Rooney movie … or even worse, an episode of Glee.

There were PC messages aplenty, the main one being that everyone should accept himself and others as they are, something that most young people are portrayed as being better at than the anal-retentive older generation ... although given the amount of catastrophic bullying in schools, that seems a myth. As an Afterschool Special it probably needed to be fairly blunt in making its points. There's a lot to be said, however, for subtlety in plot and performance, largely missing in this movie.

Of course people want to be kind when dealing with kids coping with handicaps and sexual identity crises and rites of passage, and I suppose there were a few moments when tears could have been shed. The subject matter sympathy vote aside, this movie was enjoyable due mainly to some of the actors involved but, despite all that it had going for it, it was still a disappointing result.

This is such a well told story....the plot is complicated, yet it is simply told. I am not ashamed to say that the tears started soon after the movie begun. Of course they remained until the end. All the performances were simple & simply good. Even the smaller roles were played to perfection. I loved this movie.

------ THIS REVIEW CONTAINS VERY MINOR SPOILERS ------

I really wanted to love this film, but I couldn't. I liked it, but still, there are too many flaws for me. I watched this knowing absolutely nothing about it. I didn't know the plot, nor the characters, nor the actors, nor anything at all. So there you go for my level of personal expectations: I had none whatsoever. As the movie progressed I got to see some familiar faces such as Tyler Posey (from Teen Wolf) and Kelly Hu (from X2) but, sadly, they didn't play the part.

The acting throughout the film is sub par. I won't say PLAIN BAD or anything like that because the actors were all so likable and you could see that they were having a good time and I can really appreciate that, but yeah, they didn't deliver it for the most part. There are, however, -- some -- amazing scenes with Joan Chen and Booboo Stewart, but the only actor who seemingly nailed all of his scenes throughout the movie was Gregg Sulkin (Randy). Pretty good job overall on his part. I was particularly impressed after learning he is a "Disney Kid". I'd keep an eye out for him in the future if I were working in the industry.

The plot has some really good messages about tolerance, friendship, love, respect and all that good stuff many people seem to forget to apply to their lives nowadays, but the pacing was off... Felt rushed in some parts and too slow on others. Some characters were also poorly written, specially Randy because of one particular scene. He seemed to be a douche in the beginning, but, off-screen, develops this amazing friendship with Nick all of a sudden and (in the aforementioned scene) lectures him about stuff that he himself doesn't seem to apply in his actions. It could've been easily avoided by giving this scene to another character such as Doug.

The editing was a little off, minor complaints here. Some more shots of transition would be nice because some cuts seem too abrupt, but overall it's decent. The direction is also decent, but very technical, which can be a con in this case.

Overall it's a pretty decent 'feel-good' type of movie. Based on that, I'd give it 5 out of 10: It's watchable and can be nice, but don't expect something new or extraordinary here. The ending though, is particularly well-done.

I saw this,not expecting much more than a simple star turn for some young "stars" and some older performers needing some money. First up,it doesn't have major star power (okay, but not A-list). The story isn't 'perfect'. Those two points should send you off to other pastures if that is all that matters to you. I just finished watching it a couple of minutes ago. D---! I wasn't expecting to to be moved so much by what I expected to be a "bunch of fluff". My apologizes to the crew and cast. This was much better than I thought it would be. No. I don't think it will make it as an Oscar film. So what! It just won my heart. Give it a try. Side point, I hope BooBoo gets more chances. He did pretty good with this one.

"White Frog" really surprised me as I watched it. Why? Well, because the movie had a fairly nice story, but what really impressed me was the acting in the movie.

The story is about a young boy named Nick, who has Asperger's syndrome, whose older brother dies in a tragic accident. Not fitting into the world around him, Nick struggles to get closer to the world that his older brother lived in.

There are some really nice moments to the movie, which were nicely portrayed and executed on the screen. But the great performances from the actors and actresses really helped bring this movie to life.

I can't really claim to be familiar with the acting talent of Booboo Stewart, but he really carried this movie so nicely. But it wasn't him alone, everyone in the movie were doing great jobs. And it was also particularly nice to see Joan Chen in a movie such as this.

If you enjoy drama movies that are carried by a proper and solid story, then you definitely should check out "White Frog". And this movie easily earns a 7 out of 10 stars rating from me, no doubt about it.

This independent production is a real sleeper and should be required viewing for young gay teens. Coming out is a tricky thing and every single individual LGBT person has a different family dynamic to deal with.

In this case Harry Shrum feels he can't do it at least until he's out of the house and on his own away from strict Christian parents Joan Chen and B.D. Wong. Shrum feels he also must stay to take care of his younger brother Booboo Stewart who has Asperger's Syndrome and doesn't really socialize well.

But Shrum is killed by a hit and run driver early on in the film and the rest of the film is how his family and friends deal with his passing. The focus is on Stewart who looked up to his big brother as his protector in this world. Everyone learns about Shrum's sexual orientation after his demise and the family is hit hard.

Especially Stewart who as an Asperger's individual commits things to heart and it's hard for him to unlearn what he's been taught to think about homosexuality. Harder still to learn that Shrum's lover was his alleged heterosexual womanizer Gregg Sulkin.

In the old days what Sulkin did with peers of the female gender was use them as 'beards'. That was an expression for women who hung out with closeted gay men so no one would suspect. Sulkin also comes out and his family dynamic is quite different from Shrum's and Stewart's.

Watching this with Disney actors Stewart and Sulkin I can just see the American Family Association having yet another conniption. But both deliver fine performances.

Recommended highly for gay teen audiences.

Most of the other online reviews of White Frog seem to have been written by teenagers who have seen more TV than movies, so I'll try to give an adult perspective, in case any other adults are thinking about renting or buying this movie.

First of all, except for two of the adults, I had never before seen or heard of any of the actors in this movie. So a statement like "Booboo Stewart gives, by far, his best performance to date" just leaves me puzzled. A person named Booboo has made movies before? Wow.

Others who rattle off other movies or TV shows these cast members have appeared in together, or refer to a "handsome teen idol cast" also leave me (and probably many other adults) clueless.

Second, I was not ever for even one second moved to tears while watching this movie. Not anywhere close. It is EXTREMELY sappy and manipulative - and painfully predictable. If you are eager to be swept up in shallow emotionalism - or are an adolescent who can't help it - then you may love this movie. It just made me want to pull my hair out.

Finally, if this really is Booboo's "best performance to date", he might want to consider a different career while he's still young enough to change easily. Only very young people who have seen very little of life and the world could be impressed by his performance in this movie. He looked down and mumbled all through the movie... and THAT is supposed to be a great performance? Only in an adolescent TV universe could that be true.

So I'd advise adults to look elsewhere and leave this movie to the kids, with their innocent enthusiasms and the rampant emotions that seethe just under the surface of their lives. It may be better than the TV they're used to, but as a movie it's not worth watching.

Its a B class (netflix like) movie, with indie script and MTV actors. Nothing like you would seen before. Cry at the end.

I actually like Boo Boo Stewart but I didn't like him in this. I understood what the director was trying to do but it seems like he got caught up in trying to create a really dramatic indie film that he didn't know what kind of story he wanted to tell. I realize that each movie has a main plot and many subplots but I had a hard time trying to figure out what the main plot actually was. Some areas of the movie would explore certain topics but then would just skip over them for the rest of the movie. Other points were just unrealistic in my opinion.

I understand the BooBoo Stewart's character has Asperger Syndrome but it seemed like he was just being shy the whole time. Maybe I'm just used to seeing Max Burkholder play a child with asperger's on the TV show "Parenthood" that Boo Boo's portrayal was a bit laughable to me. I didn't empathize, I was just really uncomfortable. Anyways, like I said I was confused about what the movie wanted to be about. Was it about the main character coming to terms with trying to live with his condition? Was it about teen boys struggle to be honest with their families about their sexuality? Was it about a young boy breaking free of the expectations of his religious and strict parents? Was it about a family coming to terms with their son's sudden death? Was it about a struggling art center for kids staying afloat when there main contributor dies? Funny thing about it, this movie was about all these things and it made the movie fill so diluted and rushed.

I will give a huge kudos to Joan Chen for her performance. She had certain scenes that really touched my heart and I enjoyed her portrayal. I wish there would have been more of build up so I could invest in the characters more. I thought the way the three friends found out that the two guys were gay lovers was so whack and laughable. The ending speech Boo Boo gave at the end was corny and tried too hard to be metaphorically deep. I didn't understand the father's relationship with his wife or kids or his motivation for being an ass hole. I hate when people use religion as a scapegoat as an excuse to not be more creative with homophobic topics as well. Also, that seen between Boo Boo and the homeless people was so unrealistic, I was shocked it even made it in the movie.

All in all, this movie had more flaws than I could stand. I watched the whole movie and just wasn't impressed and wanted that last hour back. The director tried to hard to make an emotionally dramatic movie that he forgot to tell a good story, which is usually what a film is supposed to be. Stop worrying about winning film festivals, winning awards and etc. Just tell a good story and everything else will come.

I saw this on Netflix, which offered only the very briefest of descriptions, so I had no idea what to expect. But since Netflix had it listed in the LGBT category, I did at least expect a gay-ish theme. But the repeated and somewhat heavy-handed references early in the film to evangelical Christianity (citing of Biblical verses, the prayer at the funeral, the lyrics of the overtly evangelical hymn in the sound track) left me very confused. I am left with the impression of a screenwriter who is gay but also a devout evangelical Christian, a juxtaposition that I personally find troubling. Still, I tried to give the film some benefit of doubt. I was not successful.

The writing was uneven and at times very unrealistic, especially in the way Nick's social abilities ... as a person with Asperger's ... vacillated across a wide range. It was as though he suddenly stopped having Asperger's when the writer/director needed him to be able to emote "normally."

And the characters seemed too contrived. Wealthy family with domineering and controlling father, submissive pill-popping mother, "perfect" elder son, challenged younger son. It was all too transparent. But the composition of the boys' poker group! One wealthy white with a prestige car, one probable Latino with a mother who worked as a maid, one black guy who looked like he was channeling Pharrell, and one South Asian. It was like a little United Nations! And it seemed totally artificial.

The acting was not great, either. I love both BD Wong and Joan Chen, but neither performance impressed me. But this may be due to the limitations of the material with which they had to work. The boys (Poker Group plus Nick) were very unevenly matched, from Justin Martin's downright bad acting to Gregg Sulkin's roller-coaster of scene-by-scene good-to-bad-to-good-again.

Call me crazy, but this entire film might have worked better if a) the overt references to evangelical Christianity were removed and b) the setting were shifted from the wealthy suburbs of LA to a working class neighborhood in middle America.

Directed by Quentin Lee with heavy handedness, "White Frog" is a complete dud with an intriguing title. Unfortunately the title is where anything interesting ends. The dialog has no subtlety, and the direction is a failure. Scenes are over or under acted with regularity, and the dichotomy of greed and giving is sickeningly simplified and black-and- white. The preaching screams out in scene-after-scene - community service, money, friends, parents. In one scene we are supposed to believe a professional psychologist would actually floss during a session. The complete dysfunction, spectacle and melodrama is putrid, especially from the parents. Who sponsors this Crud? Booboo Stewart's acting was cringe-worthy. Like watching a bad high school film project. 3/10 If you're interested in a better movie about Asberger, check out "Adam". Much better acted and directed.

Booboo Stewart looks like a white kid in this movie rather than looking like an Asian. This is a classic Hollywood using a white person in Asian character.

The overall story is good. Booboo has a good potential to be a big star. I like that the producers use multiple teenager stars to put into this project. However, I hate to see the main character pretending to be Asian when he is clearly a white kid by the facial structure and skin complex.