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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD EAN: 0013023155299 Format: Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Wolfe Video Manufacturer: Wolfe Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Wolfe Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 11, 2002 Running Time: 105 minutes Sales Rank: 41597 Studio: Wolfe Video Theatrical Release Date: 1998
Description: Every dream has its price... From Executive Producer Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) comes another compelling story of a teenage dreamer. Johnny (Jesse Bradford, Clockstoppers) has run away from home to pursue his fantasy to race cars--but he runs into trouble and out of money in Las Vegas. Gay street hustler Eric (Jordan Brower, Teen Angel) befriends Johnny and introduces him to his gang, including brash Steven (Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Home Improvement) and charming Wilma (Tiffani Thiessen, Beverly Hills 90210). Johnny also meets Eric's surrogate mom Veronica (Daryl Hannah, Splash). As the two boys become close, they are confronted with a life-threatening situation involving drugs, money, and betrayal, and Johnny must decide if he has what it takes to follow his dream.
Amazon.com: This compelling portrait of Las Vegas subculture stars Jesse Bradford (Bring It On, Clockstoppers) as Johnny, a teenager who aspires to be a racecar driver but gets stuck hustling on the Vegas strip. Speedway Junky centers around Johnny's friendship with Eric (Jordon Brower, Texas Rangers), a gay hustler who's in love with Johnny, even though he knows Johnny is straight. But the movie also captures snapshots of various fringe dwellers and people whose lives seem to be hitting a dead end, deftly drawn portraits that mix hope and despair in equal measures. The well-written script and strong performances from an eclectic cast--including appearances by Daryl Hannah, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, all of whom are excellent--make Speedway Junky more than a voyeuristic walk through the Vegas gutter. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - why
this is what you think it is not you have a movie that just makes you want to shut it off every five seconds
Rating: - A street-smart love story with a hot edge
"Speedway Junky" is a street-smart love story with a gritty, queer edge.
Executive Producer Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Tarnation, Good
Will Hunting, Elephant...) hands out another brilliant one here.
"Speedway Junky" is about a young tough guy, Johnny (Jesse Bradford), who
runs away toward North Carolina in hopes of becoming a race car driver. He
stops short in Las Vegas when he gets mugged for everything he owns.
Quickly introduced to life on the streets by Eric (Jordan Brower), a gay
hustler, and his crew (including stellar performances ... Read More
Rating: - Misses it's mark by a longshot.......
This movie is not that good. There are plenty of reviews that describe perfectly where this movie fails and where it succeeds.
Unfortunately; it fails more often than not.
There are good performances mixed with bad performances- cliches mixed with some truth- and a weak script with a few high points.
Overall, the film just isn't edgy or honest enough. The characters and performances (with the exception of Jordon Brower) just arent fleshed out realistically ...and others are just downright annoying.
One review states that this movie should be watched ... Read More
Rating: - Viva Lost Vegas
Some have said this movie isn't "real" enough . . . but it needn't be. What it is, is a film with a lot of heart and if one approaches it as a fable, you'll find it works. It's a heartbreaker of a movie with strong, committed performances by everyone involved. Dreams of NASCAR collide with male prostitution, shattered dreams and street life in Vegas for a gripping, sometimes unsettling, beautiful little movie.
Rating: - Watch it with the director's commentary "on"
I've never recommended a DVD solely for the director's commentary before, but I'm doing just that with Nickolas Perry's "Speedway Junky" (1999). The film itself is a totally predictable, sanitized view of Las Vegas street hustlers that contains two very good performances (one by someone you'd never expect), one terrible performance by a badly miscast former child star and a dual ending that is both misguided and, in the case of the tacked-on "happy" ending, insulting to the audience's intelligence. In all, "Speedway Junky" is a definite mixed bag; however, the DVD version is redeemed by an excellent director's ... Read More
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