Blond and blue-eyed 20-year old Jared Price (Corey Spears) leaves his home in Georgia to start a new life in Southern California. With only a backpack and a few hundred dollars, he sets out on an emotional journey of self realization and sexual discovery. Stumbling through the tight quarters of a Hollywood youth hostel, he befriends Robert (Josh Jacobson) who is eager to pursue a relationship. Soon, Jared gains employment as a personal caretaker for Mrs. Haines (Rocki Craigg), a wealthy older blind woman, and falls into a deceptive relationship with her 35 year-old son Matthew (Steve Tyler). Jared and Matthew become lovers, but Jared begins to wonder if Matthew is simply taking advantage of him, and has to decide if job security is more important to him than his self-worth. Matthew is two-timing his lover with Andrew (Bryan Shyne) and has a severe case of emotional blockage. When the relationship becomes personally destructive, Jared is faced once again with the difficult task of abandoning his stability to risk his heart. Matthew's only conscience is his office assistant 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.
A hustler for a hostel roommate, many interesting characters, a lonely blind woman, and a lovable new best friend make "The Journey of Jared Price" an entertaining adventure. The look and feel of this movie, shot on video with hand held cameras, with sometimes bouncy and jerking motions, perfectly mimics the type of video the main character Jared is shooting. There's lots of romance and sex in this film, a cross between drama and erotica. Acting is not the best, neither is the dialogue, and the plot is predictable and condescending. Damon Intrabartolo composed the music. Shot on digital video equipment, this is the first feature film from writer and director Dustin Lance Black.
