Cheap Speedway Junky (DVD) (Nickolas Perry) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Speedway Junky

This is JTT's second film dealing with a gay theme (he was previously in Showtime's "Common Ground", playing a gay high-school athlete.) It is certainly enjoyable to see him again playing against type -- in this case taking a hit off a hash pipe and brandishing a cigarette while tossing around the f-word -- but for me there was something missing in his portrait of a streetwise bisexual hustler. Since his character Steve is a supporting player rather than a lead, whatever weaknesses lurk in JTT's work don't affect the overall quality of the film too much. I still like it enough to award it 4 stars. There is much sincerity and craft here.

Indeed, this movie is for the most part excellent. Brower has the most opportunity to show his range as an actor and he takes good advantage of it. His character Eric is gay and in love with the straight Johnny played by Jesse Bradford. Eric knows that his attraction to Johnny is doomed to remain one-sided, and Brower communicates Eric's emotional turmoil about this very effectively. This is especially true in a crucial scene where he finally expresses his feelings to Johnny.

My one quibble is with some clunkiness in the script. There are convenient coincidences that jolt the viewer with their unlikelihood, as when an older man is driving Johnny around town and Johnny finally figures out what the man is after. Johnny jumps out of the car at a random street corner then walks a few paces, only to find Eric seated curbside on a bench. There is no acknowledgement of how strange and lucky this happenstance is -- the characters simply start talking as though they'd been planning to meet up all along.

Another coincidence occurs when one character is out on his own and gets beat up badly, only to awaken days later in another character's apartment. How did this amazing rescue happen to take place? We are expected to believe that another character stumbled upon the unconscious victim and, remembering him from a prior evening, got him to a safe haven.

What I like most about the film is the way it tells the story of Eric's redemption through selfless love. Knowing that sexual consummation is impossible, Eric nonetheless perseveres in his devotion to Johnny. In one scene he even engineers a life-changing experience for Johnny that, as transforming as it is for Johnny, at the same time causes Eric considerable personal pain. Both Eric and Johnny are changed by their friendship in a way that is truly moving. Johnny comes to recognize Eric as the best friend he has ever had, and Eric finds solace in the knowledge that he has for the first time been able to feel a kind of true, selfless love for another person. The characters' growth toward these realizations is well-handled. We are engrossed in what we see as Johnny gradually becomes more street-smart, and we can sympathize with Eric as he lets down his guard and learns to trust his feelings for Johnny. Johnny also comes to understand how Eric feels and is finally capable of returning his affection, if only in his own way.

That said, the ending of the film is something of a disappointment (that clunky script again.) I will not spoil anything here, but suffice to say that the story resorts to a tired plot device that ruined many a gay-themed movie in the 70's and 80's, in what I see as a desperate ploy for the (potentially straight?) audience's deepest sympathies. I wish the writer/director had had more confidence in the ability of the characters to emotionally involve the viewer and spared us the cliched turn of events. This ending did not have to be.

As for "rated-R" content, there is no nudity and sex of the heterosexual type is alluded to more than actually depicted. There is no gay sex shown although it is certainly discussed. Which means that the "R" rating is mainly due to language and adult themes -- a rather tame "R" when considered altogether.

From a technical standpoint, the DVD version of this film renders everything beautifully. Much of the film takes place at night, resulting in a shadowy milieu, but the picture is sharp and clear. In the area of sound, however, problems arise. Spoken dialog seems to be reproduced at a lower level than the background music. As a result I found myself cranking up the volume for many of the dialog scenes, only to have to turn it back down again when the soundtrack kicked in at full force.

Excellent Acting, Dialogue, and Story - 'Junky' has it all!
I read the synopsis of this movie and found it intriguing. But the cast was all over the map - the kid from 'Bring It On', Daryl Hannah, the middle-child from 'Home Improvement'. Could a dramatic movie with Johnathan Taylor Thomas playing a Las Vegas street hustler be any good? Yes.

This movie has it all. There is the terriffic cast, young and experienced, all doing a great job. The story offers something completely new and different, and the dialogue gives this movie a very realistic feel.

'Speedway Junky' is down-to-earth and director Nickolas Perry allows the viewer to personally identify with each character. The more you watch this movie, the easier it is to see the film through each of the characters' eyes. Be sure to check out the commentary on this DVD - it's one of the most sincere ones I've ever lsitened to.

Objective/Non-Objective
This Movie took me by suprise actually. Even if it may be hard to believe the speed of progression of the events in the Movie, it does overshadow the less observed emotional requisitions of different worldy individuals out there in the world. If you ask me, it's even an uglier world than protrayed which holds to the idea of one persons acceptance and sould (mate) searching.