The Journey of Jared Price (2000) User Reviews

Appealing, if Somewhat Amateurish, Coming of Age Tale

[dglink · 6/10 · 12 January 2006]

An innocent, sexually confused young man arrives from Georgia in Los Angeles to discover life on his own. Thus, begins the low-budget movie "The Journey of Jared Price," a sometimes-amateurish, sometimes-charming tale that has an old-fashioned message at its heart. Corey Spears is Jared, and the young actor oozes clean-cut innocence throughout the film. When a predatory older man with a set of his own problems attempts to exploit Jared, the young boy begins to open his eyes to the ways of the world. While Jared matures from the experience, he becomes more assured and comfortable with himself rather than bitter or jaded.

Jared's first job in Los Angeles is companion to a blind older woman, played by Rocki Craigg, who hires him literally sight unseen after barely hearing the sound of his voice. Although she locks her doors tight and screens visitors before opening to them, the woman apparently hears something reassuring in Jared's voice, because he is hired before any discussion of salary is even mentioned. Unfortunately, this implausibility is only one of several that litter the script. The young man's continuous use of a camcorder is another. He barely has enough money for a room in a hostel, yet batteries and videotape seem to be endlessly abundant to him.

The film also has a message with a capital M. Unfortunately, Ms. Craigg must relate most of that message to her young employee through stories from her youth. Thus, she is saddled with some of the film's most cumbersome dialog. Considering that this is the only film on Ms. Craigg's resume, she performs as well as can be expected, but, sauntering around the house without hesitation, she is not convincing as a blind woman.

Steve Tyler does a better job as the predatory son of the blind woman, and Josh Jacobson is convincing as the love interest or, perhaps better said, the young love interest. However, the film primarily rests on the shoulders of Corey, who appears in most scenes, and ably projects the right mixture of charm, innocence, and appeal. The film's timeworn message: choose carefully between the lure of material goals and the joy of true love, is not a subtle one, but it remains valid. Despite the movie's slightly rough-around-the-edges and on-the-cheap quality, "The Journey of Jared Price" will charm viewers with its simple story and old-fashioned message, and Corey as Jared will find a welcome place in your heart by fadeout.

Worth the cost of a rental...

[tulsastorm · 6/10 · 23 January 2004]

The Journey of Jared Price has some very talented actors considering it is an indie film. The plot has potential as well. However, the dialogue becomes contrived at times if not completely ad libbed (ex., when Jared goes to Robert's room). About half way through the movie, the story seems to turn into the journey of Matthew Haines more than Jared. The scenes with Matthew and his assistant are pointless. We know Matthew is a creep, and he doesn't take her advice anyway. Furthermore, a trusting relationship between the two was not established as well as the relationship between Mrs. Haines and Jared. More time should have been spent on the budding relationship between Robert and Jared. Other than a few minor gripes, this movie is definitely worth watching at least once.

Good movie with not so good production

[Michael-91 · 7/10 · 10 April 2001]

This film was shot on a small budget in just a few days--and it shows. I thought the story was nice, and the script was even good. I would give this movie higher marks if the cinematography and acting had been better. Overall, I recommend the film.

A Good Script, A Fine Cast, a So-So Production

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 15 November 2007]

THE JOURNEY OF JARED PRICE is a small budget Indie that has so much going for it that overlooking the squeaky production values is not a problem. Though it is obvious that the film was made in a short time with a minimal budget (the quality of the film is washed out to almost variations of gray), the direction and the cast serve the screenplay by writer/director Dustin Lance Black well. It has some very fine moments.

Jared Price (Corey Spears), 19 naïve years of age, arrives in Los Angeles from Georgia with high hopes and little money and checks into a youth hostel where he meets Robert (Josh Jacobson) who is more than casually attentive to the oblivious but interested Jared, and finds a job as an attendant to blind woman Mrs. Haines (Rocki Craigg), a kind and wise wealthy lonely lady whose son Matthew (Steve Tyler) is 'paying for' someone to give his mother the attention she needs. Jared and Mrs. Haines quickly bond, each supplying the care and tenderness the other needs. Matthew is living the high life on his mother's wealth and is in a long-term (but only partially non-monogamous) relationship with Andrew (Bryan Shyne) and when he meets Jared the signals go up and Matthew introduces Jared to his first physical relationship. Matthew's only conscience is his work partner Kate (Gillian Harris) who warns Matthew to be true to Andrew and not to pursue Jared. But as the tryst between Matthew and Jared deepens, each of the men learns more about himself and what is actually important in life and the story ends with enlightened views of the meaning of love.

Each of the actors does a fine job finding the core of each character and there is enough comedy to keep the drama afloat. Yes, there are scenes of bedroom activity, but they for the most part are done with taste. This is a fine example of how a good story and crew can make a good movie on a minimal budget. Were that there were more of these...Grady Harp

A thoroughly simple-minded little picture

[mdtdbe · 8 May 2008]

There are too many incongruities here. (1) After an hour sitting in the corridor owing to his roommate's commercial activities, why didn't Jared go to the desk clerk and ask, "May I please have another room? Javier's turning tricks in there and I really would like a place to sleep." (2) Middle-aged blind women who insist on tightly locked doors do not customarily hire young men as companions in their houses without checking references. (3) Andrew leaves Matthew the very day after he has told Jared that he intends to try to make the relationship last. We didn't get to see the tearful scene (or terrific fight) after Andrew took Jared home. It's a pity, for it probably would have been the best scene in the picture. (4) Mrs. Haines's supposed wealth was not reflected in her very ordinary and plain residence.

Jared's video diary was an interesting device and could have been used to turn a really effective plot point had there been one. The gratuitous sex is not unpleasing to the eye, but it does not redeem this silly picture.

Thank goodness he got better

[fatbuddhadvd · 5/10 · 24 October 2010]

I have been harsh in my scoring of this film because I know it couldn't have been easy to make for the money but what lacks here to satisfy the viewer is a comprehensively decent narrative. This film stands as a record of gay film making in 2001 and yet sadly and portentously has given birth to a plethora of US gay titles that probably saw this film as the ceiling of what could be achieved for gay film and that other film makers have chosen to poorly copy or make less inspiring or aspirant films.

That said obviously it was a good lesson for the writer/director - he went on to win an Oscar for a film that did break through that glass ceiling (but let us hope that this was not just down to a much bigger budget by several degrees of magnitude nor solely because of a great cast or director because gay film in 2010 and beyond needs to get better and reach further.)

With the knowledge that Dustin went onto write and win that Oscar for MILK and looking at this film I wonder if it isn't more autobiographical than we think? Ten out of ten for progressing on from this first stab at a film, it was a valiant effort but just not enough for me to fully embrace it. But essentially thanks Dustin for persevering and writing MILK. Oh and my god you're good looking!

An impressive, but explicit movie made on a shoestring......

[harrysdixonjr · 9/10 · 6 June 2006]

In the commentary, the director says that the movie is a traditional tragi-comedy with a moral appropriate for young students. Considering the tendency of independent movies to plumb mysterious spiritual depths, it is refreshing to see a movie that takes a dim view of materialism and selfishness. (The mysterious depths of contemporary movies are usually the astonishing ability of Hollywood to peddle psychobabble and drivel as intelligent.) The explicit scenes introduce a dark theme: is passion a bottomless pit? Are physical pleasures ever enough?

The movie is an interesting and amusing contrast to Sunset Strip. Here the old woman is a saintly grandmother and her son is horny ho.

The movie was made by a young director in one week. His budget was probably a lot less than 1% of the budget for a typical Hollywood movie made for a general release.

One of the worst movies ever made

[stronzetto · 1/10 · 2 May 2001]

I've seen "The Journey of Jared Price" twice now, and the second time I became convinced that I was watching one of the worst movies ever made. It's like watching a train wreck-hideous and fascinating at the same time. The acting is hopelessly amateurish, the dialogue is painfully bad (particularly the monologue on the meaning of the word "partner"), and the plot is predictable and condescending. If this is the state of gay movies in the year 2001, then we've taken a huge step back. What ever happened to good movies, like "Beautiful Thing," "Get Real," and "Edge of Seventeen"?

Romantic and sweet...

[cyberblitz · 9/10 · 20 April 2001]

Corey Spears (who also plays a bit part in Traffic) does an amazing job of pulling off the role of a young man shoved into reality (and self-discovery) in L.A.

The film was shot in 5 days on about $30K, but doesn't look that way. The plot is solid, the characters well developed - a tribute to a very talented director and production/editing team.

The press once characterized this as an "after school special", but I think it's much more.

Check it out - it's worthy of rental - and possible permanently adding to your DVD collection.

Sweet and Honest despite its simplicity

[webboyla · 9/10 · 9 October 2002]

This sweet, simple story on the surface is about the coming of age of a small town youth in the big city. But at its heart is the very honest, rarely touched upon tale of a young man struggling with the pressures and realities of first love in an environment where issues of the heart can often be tainted by lust and greed. Although the production values are low, and the setups simple, for the most part, the performances and themes are fresh and compelling.

Corey Spears makes it watchable

[salmineo · 10/10 · 4 August 2004]

Although the production is very very low(or no) budget, this is still a very good little film. It really is.New-comer, Corey Spears, is adorably cute and a great actor. Did I mention how cute he is? Oh yeah, I did! He made the movie very watchable for me. I started a posting on the message board for Corey's imdb info page, of any would like to discuss the film, and Corey. To get there, just type COREY SPEARS on the IMDB search. Then you scroll to the message board link on his infopage under his credits.. I highly reccomend you see this film. Appreciate it for the story and acting. Don't judge it soley on it's production values. This is a great movie! It's got heart. It's got truth. And...it's got Corey Spears!

Unless you are hosting a "B" movie night, skip this one

[dirtyjesus · 21 August 2006]

This is not the worst movie I have ever seen, although it is pretty bad. I could at least watch it, and Corey is adorable.

The dialog is stiff and forced. It often seems like the actors are performing impromptu. There are numerous technical errors. Lighting being the most notable. The sex scenes are seemed strange to me because in each of them the young men roll over onto their bellies to have there underwear removed. I don't know if I missed something, but it was strange because it happened every time - no variety.

If you're into really bad movies, try Travelling to Olympia. Now that's bad!

A sweet tail of self-realization and sexual discovery.

[jon.ward · 9/10 · 10 April 2001]

The Journey of Jared Price is a tail of Jared moving to LA from Georgia. He arrives and checks in to a hostel where he makes some new friends amid the confusion of LA life. He finds a job which and is surprised to find his sexuality unfold and has to decide who his friends are and what he wants from them.

I Love This Film

[jromanbaker · 9/10 · 4 June 2022]

Dustin Lance Black has done a lot for the LGBT community, and this film made over 20 years ago was in my opinion miles ahead of most other films dealing with homosexuality at the time. The camera work is a bit over active for my taste, but the content of the narrative is fully realised. Corey Spears plays superbly a young USA Southerner who tentatively and sensitively discovers over the course of the film what his sexual and emotional desires are. Needing money he works for a blind woman and her elder son takes a liking to him, but he already has a lover. Dustin Lane Black shows honestly and with genuine eroticism the various needs gay men have, and Corey Spears in his role of Jared Price has to disentangle himself from some of them. The last half an hour of the film is outstandingly good and ends on a note of joy that even now is rarely achieved in cinema. It is in my opinion too good a work to disappear from view and I regret not seeing it when it first appeared. But aged it is not and should be valued as the treasure of love fulfilled that it is. It is certainly in my pantheon of fine LGBT films and anyone who appreciates the complexity of loving and living should see it.

Finally a Romantic Comedy

[larapha · 10/10 · 7 January 2017]

TJJP is truly a gem! So fed up was I of films with bad endings, sad stories, awful developments, that to watch this journey was a real find. Everything is very simple in the tale, naiveté is the name of the game. I guess that if more gay films had these sensitivity audiences would flow. Nothing is forced in this simple story of a boy arriving in the big city and finding his way through it, having to decide between the eternal dilemma of love and money. Maybe what gave me such a good feeling in the tale is the protagonist, played by Casey Spears. He mixes such a great gentleness in a cute body you feel immediately sympathetic towards him. The fact that Casey made so little films after this is a proof that he was simply being himself, what adds to the film. The rest of the cast is not bad, having some highlights like Steve Tyler the spoiled son of Jarred patroness,. In the end, you will feel blissful after watching the Journey of Jarred Price, a film that deserves being watched multiple times.

Endearing and surprisingly good gay indie

[johannes2000-1 · 8/10 · 5 October 2023]

This is a true little gem, a gay indie with a small but solid and very endearing story. Yes, it's poorly executed, the photography is gritty, the handheld camera at times gets on your nerves, the sound is bad, as is at times the lighting. But when you take into account that they did it in only five days and on a budget (if you can even call it as such) of only 3000 dollars, then it's simply amazing what they came up with!

This surprising result is certainly due to a good script and dialogues (not surprising, knowing that writer/director Dustin Lance Black was some 8 years later also the writer for the movie "Milk"!), but also to the space that the director gave the actors for improvising. And particularly due to young Corey Spears as Jared, he is not only cute as a puppy, but totally convincing as the innocent, artless newbie in the big city of LA, polite and honest to everyone, trying to cope with his confusing sexual feelings, and trying to maintain his personal integrity when challenged by an opportunistic sexual predator. I especially liked the interaction between Jared and his old employer Mrs. Haines (Rocki Craig), it was so caring, and Mrs. Haines's frequent advice was so full of simple wisdom!

Even without knowing all the production details (which I only afterwards learned from the "making of"-extra on the dvd) I absolutely loved this film, but knowing the extremely limited time and budget it's a major achievement, kudos for that!