In contrast to director Daisuke Miura’s earlier film about Tokyo’s sexual underground (“Love’s Whirlpool”), which was equally explicit but nihilistic in its portrayal of ordinary people paying for meaningless sex, “Call Boy” is a sex-positive tale about how sex, even when paid for, can bring happiness to one'e self and others. Ryo starts the movie bored and disinterested with women, but inadvertently falls into the world of male prostitution and finds that he generally cares about all of his clients. From trapped housewives to lonely widows to kinky pleasure-seekers, he seeks to give them whatever fulfillment they are searching for, without judgment and even when their requests are not his cup of tea. His work as a gigolo increases his own empathy and fuels personal growth, until he becomes almost a literal sex god by the end. Featuring a fearless performance by Tori Matsuzaka (his agent must have had a heart attack), “Call Boy” is an unforgettable coming of age story for mature audiences.
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