The Mudge Boy

The Mudge Boy is a 2003 American drama film produced by Showtime. It was directed by Michael Burke and based on his 1998 short film Fishbelly White, featured in the compilation Boys Life 5.

Plot

Shy, isolated, sexually confused farm boy Duncan Mudge's mother has recently died, leaving him under the supervision of his stern, depressed father Edgar. Duncan seems somehow to have transferred his love for the deceased mother to his favorite chicken, which he takes everywhere, even to bed. He has developed the odd habit of putting the chicken's head in his mouth—to calm the animal, he says. Duncan also likes to dress in his late mother's clothing, much to the distress of his bewildered father. The small, insular band of conformist teens that comprise adolescent social life in Duncan's world initially ostracize him, then allow him in to their circle only reluctantly, and largely for their own amusement. Duncan is beset with a profound sense of grief while trying to reconcile himself to a world in which he is a sexual alien. His crush on a local boy, Perry Foley, leads to a violent resolution where Duncan relinquishes that which he loves.