''The Journey of Jared Price'' is a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

-themed coming-of-age 2000 film written, produced and directed by Academy Award winner

Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009. He has also sub ...

and starring Corey Spears, Josh Jacobson, Rocki Cragg, and

Steve Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

. ''The Journey of Jared Price'' was Black's first feature film.

Plot

Nineteen year old Jared arrives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

from a small town in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

seeking a different life. When he arrives in L.A., he rents a room in a youth

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or share ...

that's furnished with bunk beds and already has one occupant, a male prostitute who needs to use their room to have sex with his clients some times. Jared of course doesn't like this arrangement but it's all he has at the moment. Jared finally lands a job as a sitter and caregiver to the blind Mrs. Haines. He is hired by her son Matthew, who is a movie executive, because he wants someone to spend time with his mother so he won't have to. Jared meets Robert at the hostel. Robert is an openly gay teen who soon shows his attraction to Jared. Robert is very comfortable being gay, which leaves Jared feeling the opposite about his own

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. The film takes a further twist when Matthew asks Jared to move in with his mother, Mrs. Haines, so that he can also look after her at night. Because of the living situation at the hostel with his prostitute roommate, Jared agrees to move into Mrs. Haines' home. Soon after Jared moving in, it doesn't take long before Matthew gets Jared drunk and the two have sex. After Matthew decides not to give Jared a telephone message from Robert, and after Matthew fails to mention anything about his lover at home, Andrew, to Jared, Jared is faced with a difficult decision. Should he continue his relationship with Matthew or should he leave, ultimately being either homeless and jobless again?

Cast

*Corey Spears ... Jared Price *

... Matthew Haines *Mark Marsh ... Hostel Manager *Jarrad Webster (Jared Lee Webster) ... Javier *Josh Jacobson ... Robert *Rocki Craigg ... Mrs. Haines *Bryan Shyne ... Andrew *Gillian Harris ... Kate

Reception

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

gave it a rating of . Billy Masters wrote in ''Hotspots Magazine'' that the movie had "the feel of a gay indie afterschool special" and that Corey Spears "gives a genuine and nuanced performance". John Petrakis of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave it a rating of as well. He wrote that the film is a "gay variation of

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

without the cynicism and dark allure". However, he argues "it turns darkly overwrought in the final stages, unfortunately undercutting its initial promise". Black said this is one of his projects that he wishes "would stay in the past". He recalls that he was in a local video store and saw a sign advertising ''The Journey of Jared Price'', and asked them if he could take the sign down. Black said he rewrote the script in one day because it "read like soft-core porn". He further stated that he "took out all the sex and we shot it in four days for like 15 grand". In the end, he said, "we all have to learn from our mistakes ... it's just some of our mistakes end up on DVD".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Journey of Jared Price, The Films with screenplays by Dustin Lance Black American LGBT-related films 2000 drama films LGBT-related coming-of-age films 2000 LGBT-related films 2000 films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films