Rating: 
Summary: Unrequiteable Love
Review: "Speedway Junky" shows the growing relationship of two teenaged hustlers in Las Vegas. Eric (played by Jordan Brower) is experienced and gay; Johnny (Jesse Bradford) is a novice and straight. Johnny has run away from home to gamble his savings in Las Vegas in the hopes of becoming a stock car racer in North Carolina. In separate moments of distraction and panic, he loses his money and his duffel bag, leaving him destitute. Eric, attracted to Johnny, takes him in. Eric introduces Johnny to a group of young delinquents, whose dominant personality is Steve (Jonathan Taylor Thomas). Eric and Steve are eager to help Johnny get oriented and successful. Johnny rapidly gets used to shoplifting, joyriding, and safekeeping others' drug stuff, but the sexual and romantic sides of Johnny are more complicated. Johnny is straight and would like nothing better than to have his first success at giving a woman an orgasm. He gets opportunities, some comic and some injurious, with a newly-wed, a high-class hustler, two beauties [photographed for Playboy!], and with a more mature friend of Eric's mother (Veronica, played by Daryl Hannah). Not many normal men, much less a down-and-out teen, would get such a string of scoring opportunities. Still, it's just the thrill of the sex itself to him. Meanwhile, Eric has fallen in love with Johnny and does what he can to build the relationship. Eric has Veronica as an understanding confidante. Although Johnny starts out bawling out his shock at meeting a chickenhawk, Johnny slowly gets more assured and trusting with the gay Eric and eventually offers to take Eric away with him on an undefined basis to North Carolina. The action accelerates when Steve has an immediate need for cash and finds a willingness to do what it takes to get himself out of the bind, regardless of the consequences to Eric or Johnny. The movie is nicely acted (I especially liked Jordan Brower's performance as Eric.) and photographed. The movie-makers do not present a single view of how to take the film. Certainly, despite the topic, it is not a titillating skin flick. The only depictions of prostitution are of getting into or out of cars and a comic scene where Johnny is picked up momentarily by a fancy female prostitute. Johnny goes shirtless some, as does a significant drug dealer once. One woman takes her blouse off, keeping her large bra on. Eric jumps from afar into a swimming pool. The film is about relationships, not titillation, nor is the movie a condemnation of street life. The relationships are tricky. Eric loves Johnny. Johnny thinks Eric is the best friend he ever had. Still Johnny and Eric both have (different) relationships with Veronica, and Johnny's plans won't include Eric forever. At the movie's end, it is not clear whether Johnny thinks of Eric or Veronica at all or if they are filed away as a weird, unmentionable interlude in Las Vegas. The audience will have to decide whether Eric or Johnny is the moral focus of the film and what the film is to mean.
Rating: 
Summary: MEDIOCRE AT BEST
Review: ... You would think that a movie about hustlers on the streets of Vegas would be gritty and sexy. Well, there's no sex in the movie and the story isn't very gritty, or interesting for that matter. The commentary by the director is kind of nice. Hearing the stories behind the making of this low-budget film is interesting, but his attempt to justify the killing off of the main gay character is flimsy ... I'd only reccomend this movie if you're a DIE HARD fan of Jordan Brower, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, or Darryl Hannah. Otherwise I suggest you skip it.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping and Gritty
Review: A gripping and somewhat gritty story that draws you in from start to finish. The story begins with Johnny (Jeese Bradford)arriving in Las Vegas after running away from home. He quickly learns that chasing your dream has it consequences. After getting out of a strangers car, he runs into Eric (Jordan Brower). From that point on, a remarkable and compelling friendship develops between the two. Both Bradford and Brower deliver solid and emotionally powerful performances. Unfortunately, implausible events and other fringe element characters become less of a backdrop, and more centralized to the story and it's dramatic conclusion (the only reason I gave it 4 stars vs.5 stars). At the midpoint of the movie, Eric asks his surrogate mom (Daryl Hannah) for a favor. The emotional impact this favor has on Eric is riviting, especially given the fact that Eric comes to realize that his love for Johnny will likley not be returned in the same way. As Johnny and Eric grow closer and become true friends, the fringe elements cause a somewhat implausibe situation to occur, leading to the movies powerful and emotionally jarring climax. The movie stays in your head long after it is over. The movies dramatic climax is compelling and gritty, with thematic cinemetography (shades of Brian Depalma and Alfred Hitchcock). Absolutely splendid. Fringe elements aside, the movie is thought provoking, provacative, and compelling. Highly recommended viewing. The picture quality of the DVD is excellent and clear, but some of the dialogue is hard to discern even with a higher end home theater system (have your volume control nearby while watching the movie).
Rating:
Summary: Speedway Junky Does Have Its Moments
Review: A straight teenager on the run befriends a gay male hustler in this gritty, somewhat flawed character portrait set against the seamier side of Las Vegas. With Gus Van Zant acting as executive producer, I expected this film to have a lot more depth in terms of character, dialogue and sub plotting. But you can't have everything.
The finished product does offer viewers a somewhat accurate portrait of teen runaways, teen drug substance and teen prostitution. Some of the scenes are pretty intense. So much so that they really get under your skin. Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Daryl Hannah star.
Rating: 
Summary: Second Thoughts
Review: At first, I thought that this was an OK film. Not an extremely must-see nor earth-shattering movie.
But after reading the previous reviews, I've changed my opinion...made me go deeper w/my emotions. It was a great movie. I won't go into detail because I believe a lot of what I had to say has already been said, thus my change in attitude. Suffice it to say...I now feel that I could easily fall in love w/Jordan Brower's character - Eric. Eric reminded me of the time I fell in love w/my best friend, who was straight, and the torment it causes...which I'm sure many gay men can empathize.
This is the first I've seen Jordan and, yes, he's gorgeous!
Rating:
Summary: Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Review: Being a big fan of Jonathan,I was kind of dissapointed to see so little of him in this movie. But it was cool seeing him as "a not so nice guy" Probably helps being gay when you watch this movie. It is a SAD love story. Left me in tears.
Rating:
Summary: Down and out in Vegas?
Review: Both a coming-of-age and a coming out story, this film has some good moments in amongst the stock-standard plot. It's hard not to be impressed by the casts that line up for gay-themed films these days, even if those casts don't seem strong enough to earn many of the movies their deserved theatrical releases. "Speedway Junky," starring Jesse Bradford and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, plays a bit like if "The Fast and the Furious" took a left turn into "My Own private Idaho" somewhere around Las Vegas. And that's no coincidence since Gus Van Sant, "Idaho's director, executive produced "Speedway Junky." Despite the youthful cast, which also includes Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, "Speedway Junky" is gritty and deals with some difficult issues, sexual and otherwise. The leads, especially the always outstanding Bradford, meet the challenge well and never allow the picture to devolve into some kind of R-rated "Dawson's Creek." Few answers are provided to the difficult dilemmas, but that's partly the point. It's ultimately more of a wrench than a sledgehammer, but it's effective and well-made nonetheless. The story focuses on a naive county boy runaway Johnny, (Hottie - Jesse Bradford) who comes to Las Vegas to strike it rich so that he can become a race car driver. Of course, he is practically robbed, raped and beaten by the time the first reel is over. The film's most nauseating segment concerns a businessman who picks up the young boy for obvious reasons. Of course, naive Jesse is blind to the whole scenario until it gets real obvious. It's revolting stereotypical crap. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (teenage star of the television show Home Improvement) plays Steven, a bisexual hustler in this gritty film about the world of teen hustlers in Las Vegas. Not surprisingly, he is not the lead actor, instead he's on the fringe, being 'straight' unless he is paid to perform. But Johnny is fortunate enough to meet young Eric (Jordan Brower), a gay urban hustler who takes him under his wing. Eric has his sights on Johnny but he's such a sweet young gay hustler that he wouldn't dream of forcing himself on the other boy. They become fast friends when Johnny gets beat up and Eric nurses him back to health, like the good homosexual teenage boy that he is. Of course, Johnny is straight, so Eric is wasting his time here. Wow - how novel! It is Jordan Brower's' Eric' that stands out as the star of the film, teaching Johnny the 'tricks' of the street, providing him somewhere to live, falling for Johnny and having to pay the price for his love. Darryl Hannah is also convincing as the 'mother figure' of Eric and moral shoulder in the film. Brower does his absolute best here to bring his gay teen character to life. The scenes between him and Hannah almost work. A particularly good scene comes when Eric cries in unrequited love while his friend Johnny makes it with Hannah. The scenes are quick cut back and forth but the heterosexual scene doesn't go far enough. We know why Eric is in anguish, he is thinking of Johnny with the older woman. The scene with Johnny and Hannah, however, is so dull, so lackluster, and so bland that it doesn't really work. Eric would be thinking of his love interest in bed with the woman, not just him kissing her tenderly. It just doesn't go far enough. It doesn't have enough oomph. It's too damn Hollywood "safe." Too bad Brower works so hard for almost no payoff. Thomas does the best he can, but his Steven is relegated to the backdrop of the Johnny/Eric love story - or rather, the lack thereof of it. Las Vegas as a backdrop looks bland. But occasionally you hit a small payoff, and Brower pops up with another good bit of acting in an otherwise barren wasteland of lost, pointless neon. Budget was $1 million. Shot in 24 days in the summer of 1998. Exterior filming in Vegas, interiors shot in L.A. Personal Notes: Seen on 8/28/99 as part of the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. The director, an extremely nice man, was in attendance and did a Q&A session. Among other tales was the story of hiring JTT. Balthazar Getty had been hired to play the role of Steven but showed up incapacitated and unable to stand, let alone act. Perry was given 48 hours to find a new teenage "name actor" or the film would be scraped. JTT was on hiatus during the summer from "Home Improvement" and accepted the role after being faxed pages of the script. Perry did not write the cross cut scene where Bradford and Hannah make love and Brower cries. He had those as separate entities. The editor did this and showed it to Perry who wisely saw its genius. Perry said that he thought of Brower's character as a sort of saint but did not consciously act visually on this idea. He said many people see religious imagery in the film. I myself saw a scene where a hubcap in the background was lit so that it became a halo over a scene. Perry said this was not a conscious thing. Perry said the only thing his producers required in the film was a "car chase" scene to which he obliged. If it's not clear from the movie, it's clear from the commentary by director Nickolas Perry that he's a knowledgeable filmmaker and knows what he wants. He exudes confidence from behind the camera and the microphone in equal measure, and conveys a sense of composure that explains why the movie works as smoothly as it does, managing to sustain honest emotion even while it tackles rough, tough and sometimes off-putting themes.
Rating: 
Summary: Never quite believable
Review: Despite gritty subject matter, an attractive and competent young cast, and Gus Van Sant as executive producer, this film never quite comes together. Johnny, a naive 18 year old with dreams of becoming a race-car driver, finds himself alone and penniless in Las Vegas. He is taken in by a gay hustler named Eric and his unofficial adopted mother, and begins hustling himself in order to make enough money to finance his trip to North Carolina. During his stay, he learns the ropes of prostitution, meets plenty of strange and unsavory characters, and develops ambiguous feelings for Eric, who is in love with him. Unfortunately, neither the story or the characters are ever really quite believable, especially the unrequited love between Johnny and Eric. The problem may be that the film can't seem to decide whether it wants to be gritty and realistic or surreal and over-the-top. For a far superior portrayal of prostitution and ambiguous male sexuality, I'd recommend Gus Van Sant's own excellent "My Own Private Idaho".
Rating:
Summary: What? Huh? I didn't get it...
Review: I didn't get this movie. I didn't feel that the characters were very well defined, they seemed two dimensional at best. I wouldn't recommend this and I am sorry that I spent my money and time.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, fairly predictable
Review: I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't earth-shattering or terribly exciting, but it was a heartfelt portrayal of friendship and the unlikely ways that complete strangers can come into your life, forever change it, and leave again. Jesse Bradford holds the main role well, but his character here has kind of the constantly-dumbstruck look and mannerisms of his Bring it On character. Still, his acting is good and shows good potential. The real star and best actor in this film is Jordon Brower. I had never seen him before, and was impressed with his acting ability. Same goes for Darryl Hannah - she's always been one of my favorite actresses, and her performance here is just the right balance of strength and fear. All in all, a good buddy movie with a somewhat predictable (read: tug on the heartstrings) ending, but worth the investment.
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