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!
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!