The Price of Love (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

David Burton Morris

Writer (WGA):

Ronald Parker (written by)

Release Date:

28 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

16 year old Bret lives with his indifferent father and a stepmother who abhors him. After yet another fight he leaves home...

Plot Keywords:

Male Prostitution | Shirtless Male | Street Kid | Homelessness | Homeless Teenager

Cast

Peter Facinelli	...	Brett
Laurel Holloman	...	Roxanne
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Beau
Steven Martini	...	Tony
Alexis Cruz	...	Alberto
Harvey Silver	...	Puff
Ben Gould	...	Max
John Posey	...	Sgt. Albro
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryan Barton-Grimley	...	Punk 1
Sue Bugden	...	Sheila
Martin Cassidy	...	Burt
Patrick David
Charles Emmett	...	Car wash manager
Erica Gimpel	...	Officer Hudson
Devon Gummersall	...	T. J.
George Temple Hammett	...	Blond cop
Michael Kemmerling	...	Kurt
Ruben Madera	...	Assistant Manager
Sheamus Murphy	...	James
Miguel Nájera	...	Desk sergeant
Kymberly Newberry	...	Black woman (as Kymberly S. Newberry)
Devon Odessa	...	T.J.
Ron Perkins	...	Ken
Sharlene Ruffino	...	Punk girl
Jack Shearer	...	Max's father
Robert Frank Telfer	...	Alcoholic Husband
Yul Vazquez	...	Rafael
Cameron Watson	...	Cal
Scott Williamson	...	Mark

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Gerber Company

Quotes:

Brett: What kind of a dream is that? Pretending to love somebody so you can have nice things.
Beau: Oh Honey. That's the basis of many sucessful marriages.
Brett: Is that what you want?

Brilliant Debut film for Peter Facinelli

This is a well-made story of a throwaway teen who tries to cope with life on the streets and ends up by selling his body. Brett is a teenager whose mother has died and whose father doesn't intervene when an abusive step-mother throws him out.

Unable to live with the grandmother to whom he flees, he finds himself on the streets of L.A. with no place to sleep, no money for food and no way to get a job without a work permit.

When he's taken under the wing of a gay-for-pay male hustler and befriended by two others, Brett considers hustling as an option for raising cash. Although he's completely straight, and the idea disgusts him, he is lured by the apparently easy money to be had. He quickly discovers the risks but is driven to working the streets by his need for cash and his lack of other options.

I loved this film. It presented the issues in the story fairly and treated all concerned with an even hand. The police were portrayed as caring and the hustlers he met were not mincing queens or desperate criminals but were understandable and even likeable. Perhaps the foster parents were portrayed as a bit uncaring but they were well within the sphere of believability. The other street kids seemed well thought out and the dialogue throughout rang true with none of the writing flaws that mar so many of these `earnest' attempts at made-for-TV movies.

Peter Facinelli as Brett does an outstanding job in what was apparently his debut role. He's stunningly attractive and its understandable why johns and hustlers alike are drawn to him. The scenes he has where he befriends Max (played by Ben Gould) and the gentle charity he displays make you fall for the character as well. I completely empathized with the hustler Beau and understood how he could provide Brett with a place to stay and even agree to Brett's bringing a girlfriend home. How could any gay man say `no' to those beautiful brown eyes and that smile?

Overall I gave this film a 9 out of 10. It would have had a perfect score except that the ending seemed a bit abrupt and left me feeling that we ran out of movie a few minutes before we ran out of story.