Jamesy Boy (2014)

The story is basically a strong one, particularly because it's based on an actual person's life. But somehow in general the movie doesn't really grip the edge it should be having. One thing that I notice is that the story flow tries to beautify the movie by splitting its two acts into smaller pieces which the movie alternates in between all the entire duration. But the thing is, the alternating is done on very short durations that the feel on each act doesn't really have any adequate time to build strong in the viewers' minds. If the movie let the environments sink in for longer time, say like twenty five minutes or so before alternating, I think the impact will be far better. The acting overall is a little bit below standard. Spencer Lofranco still needs to work more on his expression which seem hyperbolic on most times. Having Ving Rhames helped a bit in giving depth to this movie.

Jamesy Boy is the type of film you go into, knowing it will probably be somewhat enjoyable and far from the best film ever made. But what I was left with was just a horrid film with terrible performances and a laughable plot line that we've seen done a thousand times over and done way better in films like Midnight Express and American History X. Spencer Lofranco gives a very one dimensional, and paper thin performance as our titular character while everyone else around him drowns him out with better, more controlled performances. This is never a good sign for a film. The supporting actors make Lofranco look like a fish out of water as he tries to navigate the film and keep his head above float when acting with veteran actors such as James Woods and Ving Rhames. One big surprise here, however, is Taissa Farmiga. She was absolutely amazing in this film and I believe she will stand as the only real reason to ever sit through something as incompetent as this is, furthermore, she is the only reason I am not rating this a 1 star film. The story of the little prison boy going straight wears out its welcome after the first five minutes as it dabs into every cliché in the metaphoric book, from befriending the friendly rapist killer in Ving Rhames to going head to head with the "evil" warden in James Woods. I didn't know whether this film was a satire on prison movie clichés or the script was really just that bad. Even for the first time writer/director, Trevor White, this is pretty bad. This is a film that doesn't have any sense of reality, yet it tries to be things like "raw" and "gritty" instead it just turns out hokey and laughable. Overall, Jamesy Boy is one bad film from top to bottom and the only reason why this film is remotely watchable is because of Taissa Farmiga...and even she can't save this film from itself.

This movie might not be for everyone, when I read some of the reviews I can understand your point of view when remembering it in hindsight but I must tell you I was unable to notice any of the small mistakes while I was watching.Maybe because I've been in the same situation at the same age, made all the same mistakes with the feeling of it being right at the time, like you had no other choice.If you lived the life of a child believing it was full-grown surrounded by vicious criminals whose "standards and morals" you thought was real and you believed it like this kid did and had to go trough it the hard way to finally realize, or if you can relate to that, then this movie might be for you.Not because it will make you feel good or not because it is portrayed in a way that makes "thug life" seem cool like these movies I grew up with and became classics.In a way that made me feel as the main character went through life making decisions, I could understand and relate to his choices, it wasn't always spelled out why he took upon himself to do some of the things he did.His standards and morals, he stood up for them even though it is a rare thing in that world, a very rare thing I must say knowing what I speak of. And when he was old enough to realize that he had to pay the price knowing he was trying to hold up this "standard and moral" that does not even exist in that world and the one who payed the price was him.I liked this film and the main character, it made me feel through the whole movie as the decisions was made and I reminisced on my own life from an adults point of view gone through hell and back.Best luck to you James, best luck.

Whenever a film is based on a true story there are a few guarantees. The first being the story will likely be long so the writers can embellish where they need to, and the second guarantee is that for every interesting moment in the film, you are guaranteed at least 10-20 minutes of boredom. Jamesy Boy is no different, but unfortunately while other films make up for those 10-20 minutes by using jokes or drama, Jamesy Boy just gives same old same, same old.Characters & StoryThe focus of the film is James (played by Spencer Lofranco) who is a troubled kid. He gets into fights a lot, usually falls with bad crowds, and he has been in and out of institutions since six years old. Reasons vary, but one time includes pulling a knife on his mom's boyfriend, for reasons not explained. Said mother Tracy (played by Mary-Louise Parker) is seemingly James' last hope and despite it all, she remains in his corner. However, a mother's love sometimes isn't enough, so James goes out into the world and ends up finding Roc (played by Michael Trotter).This leads to James being Roc's errand boy and him hanging with this girl name Crystal (played by Rosa Salazar) who is somewhat the village bicycle, but James' main squeeze. But, as time goes on, and James realizes he can't keep up with the gangster life, he tries to trade in Crystal for Sarah (played by Taissa Farmiga) and maybe try to live a normal life. However, with one last deal asked by Roc, everything goes to hell as Crystal snitches on him and then James ends up in prison.From there, James meets Guillermo (played by Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas) who is in a rival gang; Chris (played by Ben Rosenfield) who is the new kid on the block; and most importantly Conrad (played by Ving Rhames) who seemingly acts as some type of father figure to James. But, with all that has happened, though we see James get out of prison, and are told before the credits what has happened to the real James, you are left wondering if he will stay on the straight and narrow and prevent himself from being a statistic, or lead the life expected?PraiseWhen it comes to the film, certain scenes and elements are worth praising and act as a silver lining to the overall production. For example, it is nice to see the two Middleton co-stars Farmiga and Lofranco back together and have a little bit of romance. Also, though not always, Lofranco does well in some scenes and does show why he was casted as the lead in the film.CriticismHowever, most of the film feels like a drain on your time in which you could find something better to do. And this is not said to take anything away from the real James or those who participated in the movie, but between them jumping from before James was locked up, to him when he was; watching him as an errand boy, which may include guns and drugs, but plays out so familiar that even those moments don't wake you up; and then with most of the performances not drawing you into the story nor characters, I do feel that while the story perhaps would be interesting if told by the source, the movie portrays that story with one too many flaws to really get into it.Overall: Skip ItThough it was good to learn at the end of the movie James is doing well in his life, this to me would have been better as a documentary than as a dramatic film. For though you can see effort from the actors, there is something missing that keeps the film from having a heart and feeling like it is alive. Hence why I say to skip it. Though usually I would say something is worth watching on TV, there comes a point where a film maybe worth nothing more than experience for the cast and production crew, and background noise for the viewer. Which, sadly, is what I see Jamesy Boy as.