The only character with any depth is the birthmarked, self-proclaimed misanthrope protaganist, but we can only get a kick out of his angsty 'I hate people' routine for so long, and lead actor Byron Lane is short on charisma as well as talent.
Teen outcast Rudolph (Byron Lane)'s angst and ennui is understandable- between his clueless family and his lifelong bullying at the hands of just about everybody, who wouldn't be P.O.-ed? But his self-absorbed outlook on his jock father's fatal heart attack and his actual consideration of dissing his dad in the eulogy makes him often a less than sympathetic character.
Rudolph makes videos of himself and posts them online, where he talks mostly about his lame family, his birthmark, and how much he hates humanity. Apparently his self-absorbed rants touch a lot of people, and connect him with some of the human beings he proclaims his hate for.
When Rudolph's ditzy cousin (Kristeee with three 'e''s- cute) shows up for the funeral and sabotages Rudolph's videos,) Rudolph must stand up for outcasts, weirdoes, and misanthropes everywhere. His ambivalent feelings for his dead father make an appearance too, although they don't take center stage over his all-important online video-making.
There are a plethora of stereotypes on display here- the dumb bitchy blonde, the soft homosexual, the sassy, larger-than-life black gal, the token emo girl, the bubble-headed jocks, and so on, blah, blah, blah. If it makes you feel better, V.D. is nowhere to be found in this story (Rudolph is cruelly dubbed 'Herpes Boy' because of his birthmark,) and the movie has a few funny moments (mostly at the beginning.)
The actors are fairly average/fairly weak,except for the ones who play the parents and the gay uncle, who are decent in undemanding roles. Overall, "Herpes Boy" is forgettable now and will be outdated in twenty years, when the Facebook/Myspace blah-blah-blah craze is obsolete. Underwhelming in every way.
Rating-
5.5/10
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