Product Details

• Actors: Corey Spears, Steve Tyler, Jared Lee Webster, Josh Jacobson, Rocki Craigg
• Directors: Dustin Lance Black
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Alluvial Filmworks
• DVD Release Date: December 31, 2000
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056BPH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,720 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Journey of Jared Price" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, sweet and compelling story, February 15, 2003

By 

Thomas Janowski "tomj1963" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Journey of Jared Price (DVD)

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.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Charming Romance, February 12, 2001

By 

P. R. Marchesano "marchesa" (Philadelphia PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Journey of Jared Price (DVD)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Script, A Fine Cast, A So-So Production, November 15, 2007

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Journey of Jared Price (DVD)

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, November 07