That kind of sustained psychological abuse is difficult to watch, but Har’el injects levity into even the most harrowing moments. One of my favourite scenes involves Otis acting as an intermediary between James and his mom (voiced by Natasha Lyonne). She tells him something over the phone, and he mimics it back to his father, who responds. As the child of divorced parents, this is something I have experienced myself too many times to count, and it’s both tragic and surreally amusing. But as with anything in Honey Boy, the mood swings sharply when James pushes Otis out of the way and grabs the phone, hurling invectives and insults directly at his ex-wife.