Rating: 
Summary: Low Budget Honesty and Romantic Realism
Review: At one point in this movie, one character hands another an envelope of money. He opens it and looks inside, and there is four or five hundred dollar bills. Lets just say I think he much have shot that particular scene early in the production because the actor was obviously holding the entire films budget. That said, it was actually a very enjoyable film. The complete lack of budget gave it an honesty thats often hard for a "slick" film to capture. Story Precis: Jared is young, cute, newly arrived from Georgia. Quiet, shy, reserved, speaks with a slow southern drawl and is generally a very endearing character. He's moved to LA, gets off bus, gets a room in a hostel. His roomate in the hostel is a hustler who has *almost* no lines, but who proceeds to provide some titilation and a reason for Jared to not be able to get back in his room, which allows us to introduce another character, a potential romantic foil. Jared proceeds to get a job working as a blind old ladys houseboy. He meets the old lady's late 30's son, who is successful, gay and has a long term partner. Proceed from here to a very nice, romantic storyline of Jared's developing sexual awakening, (conveyed very well by the and the choices he makes. I'd give it 3.5 stars overall, most gay men would give it an extra point for the gratuitous and sometimes hardly justifiable nudity and sex scenes. (And thats not taking off the point I should take off for dodgy camera work, occassionally atrocious lighting and sometimes annoyingly bad quality audio. (And yes, I have the DVD version).)
Rating: 
Summary: Simple, sweet and compelling story
Review: Having viewed this movie several times now, several aspects worth comment jump into my mind. The look and feel of this movie, shot on video with handheld cameras, with sometimes bouncy and jerking motions, perfectly mimics the type of video the main character Jared is shooting. Therefore, I think the director has very effectively tied the cinematography to the main character and therefore the story that is being told. It is almost as if Jared filmed his own life story. Dustin Lance Black has created a film that is very different from the typical "young gay man goes to the big city" story. When we first see Jared, he has just arrived in LA and with a backpack and sleeping bag, he appears to a target for any street criminals. Even more so when he is seen making a call to the youth hostel...one view of Jared is through the window of a car parked across the street. This gave me the impression that someone was watching Jared and that this might lead to the typical "pimp forces Jared to turn tricks" movie. But that didn't happen. Instead this is the story of a genuniely sweet and very, very polite young man exploring a world different than his Georgia upbringing. This is not about being all excited about being in LA; its not about the glamour of LA. Jared's polite Southern upbringing is evident when he first meets Mrs. Haines. The way in which Corey Spears delivers his lines leads me to believe he is overly polite and kind...so if he isn't this way, then he is a truly great actor. Having known several "Mrs. Haines" in my life, I found Rocki Cragg's acting to be right on the money. She is one of those wise, yet quirky characters that make any moving interesting. Mrs. Haines plays a "former diva" perfectly, whether she ever was a true diva or not. But all the other characters Jared meets are also interesting...his hostel roommate who makes his money as a male prostitute, the front desk clerk who can't say "monopolize", Robert, the boy who just wants someone to love, Matthew, who seems to find men by posting job notices in youth hostels. While Robert is overlooked through most of the film, Matthew makes his presence known. Matthew supposedly has it all...success(with his mother's money) and a boyfriend. But Matthew is really the little boy in this film, not knowing that he really does have alot and always wanting more. Sexually speaking, he gives Jared a rather pleasant introduction to gay sex. Emotionally speaking, Matthew tramples on Jared. Not ready to give up his boyfriend, Matthew suggests a threeway with Jared and Matthew's boyfriend and this is where Jared fails to understand the big city ways and rightfully so. Matthew's boyfriend may be the most understanding character in the film...offering to give Jared a ride home when the threeway sex fails and there are alot of hurt feelings all around. Quite possibly it is Matthew's office assistant who is the best overall character in the film. Her straight forward and totally honest approach to life is always refreshing among a group of people where emotions rule the day. She's the type of friend everyone wishes they had and the type of person who gives great advice that is usually ignored. Overall, this film is a rare gem. It's simple, raw, rough, and sweet all at the same time. I think what makes this film a standout is how the cinematography blends so well with the story and the character of Jared.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: I bought this dvd months ago and watched it and fell in love with it from the start. i like the fact that it was not sterotypical and showed the gay lifestyle in a more "normal" way if you will, really made me feel good. Its a refreshing change from the awful things that we see on Queer as folk....
Rating:
Summary: Simple, Unclutered, Emotional
Review: I completely enjoyed The Journey of Jared Price. Dustin Black's direction and actors' portrayal of characters conveyed a great story of how many gay men find, fall in, treat love. It should in the collection of anyone who is interested in the gay film genre. The DVD extras were cool. Especially liked the interviews.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Romance
Review: I first viewed this film at the Phila L & G Film Festival in the Summer of 2000. A fine film, though the proof picture quality could have been better. It should be much improved in the final DVD release. The story is a somewhat traditional innocent youth meets older, wiser person and is seduced, falls in love (he thinks), and finds it isn't all it's cracked up to be. In this case, it's a young man (18) and an older man (30s). Typically, there is a young man his own age head-over-heels in love with Jared whom he ignores, but therein is (at least) the drama of the plot. What is so charming about this film is that the characters are simple and portrayed very realistically. You can feel sympathy for Jared immediately and yet feel like you could enjoy getting to know him and some others as well. These young, unknown actors perform exceptionally well. In a time when (especially independent) movies seek to be offbeat, sometimes just for the sake of being so, it is refreshing to have "an old-fashioned" love story. Jared learns some life lessons and we are taken along with him. Director Lance Black does a fine job with a low budget making the film interesting to watch and experience.
Rating:
Summary: This Movie Rocks
Review: I have purchased many gay movies and The Journey of Jared Price is the best. I have watched this movie three times already. Corey Spears, who plays Jared- and was also in Traffic as the kid who OD'd, is a cutie and a swell actor. When you watch Corey Spears the actor in the interview at the end of the DVD you can get a sense of the difference that separates the actor and the character. Corey has a hot body, beautiful electric-blue eyes, is polite to a fault, has that cute little southern accent and has the most expressive face of anyone I have seen. Rocki Craig who plays Ms. Haines is to die for. The story was inspiring and shows Jared to be a man of character as he leaves at the end even though he could have stayed and milked the situation. Instead, he moved on with his life. His struggle with his sexuality comes through, especially in the scene in the park where he meets the guy from the hostel. The DVD is clear and has a lot of nice extra features such as deleted scenes and interviews with the cast. Dustin Lance Black is young but obviously a talented director- although his name sounds toooooo gay...
Rating:
Summary: Worth viewing
Review: I must say, that I really enjoyed this movie. Jared, (Corey) is a sweet, innocent, vunerable character that pulled at my heartstrings in just about every scene. He has the bluest eyes that are just beautiful. His journey of self realization hit very close to home for me and was delivered honestly. The other characters were campy and fun, especially the widow Haines, she was just a hoot. And I must say that, Andrew (Bryan) is totally HOT! He has a beautiful body and I enjoyed every scene that he was in, however, I think it would have been WAY hot if he and Jared (Corey) could have been in a steamy love scene too! The movie as a whole is well worth seeing and I can't wait for my own copy to arrive.
Watch and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Worth viewing
Review: I must say, that I really enjoyed this movie. Jared, (Corey) is a sweet, innocent, vunerable character that pulled at my heartstrings in just about every scene. He has the bluest eyes that are just beautiful. His journey of self realization hit very close to home for me and was delivered honestly. The other characters were campy and fun, especially the widow Haines, she was just a hoot. And I must say that, Andrew (Bryan) is totally HOT! He has a beautiful body and I enjoyed every scene that he was in, however, I think it would have been WAY hot if he and Jared (Corey) could have been in a steamy love scene too! The movie as a whole is well worth seeing and I can't wait for my own copy to arrive.
Watch and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Honest and close to real life
Review: I really like this movie. The characters are close to "life-like". Well, Jared Price is a nice and very cute guy who takes a job at an almost blind old woman as a caretaker. He meets her son who at the beginning is quite cold to Jared. But after a while they come closer and Jared shares his first gay lovenight with him. But what he doesn't know is that the guy he fell in love with already is in a relationship. So, when Jared is invited to his male lover at home, he didn't know that he should be part of a three-way... So, a big disappointment is about to come up. But what Jared doesn't realize is that there ia already someone else waiting for him who fell deeply in love with him. This movie really made me feel like watching my own beginnings in gay life. It's honest and it can really happen. Watch for yourself. It's a low-budget movie but really more than well-done. And it's amazing that they shot "The Journey of Jared Price" just in a few days
Rating:
Summary: And the Extras are Fabulous
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is a sweet, uplifting coming-out story - no wonder it's done so well on the gay & lesbian film circuits. Yes, it is done on a budget, but they've done very well. Don't let the technical quality cloud the great story. As a major bonus, the "interviews" and "outtakes" on this DVD are very entertaining (unlike most DVDs, IMHO). One thing that I felt important was that this is a film from (mostly) gay people for gay people - not like so many that mainly feature straight actors playing gay roles. The lead actor is Corey Spears. He did a brilliant job. He was also in "Traffic" (which I have yet to see). Let's hope his acting career really takes off. I look forward to more films from the director, Lance Black. And who is the guy who is obsessed with "Mark"??? (see the outtakes)
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