Mallboy

Plot

Shaun is a fourteen-year-old boy who prefers to spend time with his friends at shopping centres in suburban Melbourne, rather than attending school. Demoralised in life with unsupportive friends, an out of touch and patronising social worker, arguments with his mother and his father having been convicted for burglary, he finds that there is little reason to be optimistic in life.

Shaun's life slowly begins to change for the better when his father is released from gaol. Hoping that they can now pursue a meaningful relationship, he is disappointed when he finds his father is not reciprocal. Ironically having once seen his father as a positive role model, Shaun eventually resolves to avoid the life his father has lived on overcoming his initial distress and feelings of rejection. Not long after his teenage sister gives birth, he decides, with the support from his mother, to leave his family and friends behind to start a new life in a home for disadvantaged adolescents.

Response

Unlike Australian comedies, Mallboy is a film which depicts (some) bogans in a serious manner. A scene includes Shaun's mother holding his father's welcome back party and getting high on amphetamines, after which she starts a fight with his father's new girlfriend. Various other scenes also include drug use, fighting and confrontational swearing.

Box office

Mallboy grossed $140,742 at the box office in Australia,.