''Speedway Junky'' is a 1999 American

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

written and directed by Nickolas Perry and starring Jesse Bradford,

Jordan Brower Jordan Brower (born October 14, 1981) is a former American movie actor. Biography Jordan was born in Lompoc, California but moved to Texas at an early age. It is there where he got his first break into acting when a film crew from ''The Big ...

, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and

Daryl Hannah Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film '' The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, i ...

Plot

The film stars Jesse Bradford as Johnny, a young man with dreams of becoming a

stock car racer Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

. After he loses all of his money and possessions in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

, he drifts into the world of

hustling Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of both a confidence tri ...

, in the hope of making enough money to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to join the car racing industry. He meets Eric (

), a gay hustler, who finds himself falling for Johnny. Jonathan Taylor Thomas also stars as Steve, a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

hustler, and

plays Veronica, a former

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

and

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

who has served as a surrogate mother figure for Eric since his own mother died. Other than Veronica, the only thing Eric has to remind him of his mother is a silver dollar she gave him that he carries for good luck. Eric falls deeply in love with Johnny, and is saddened that his love will remain unrequited. Eric finds out that Johnny is a virgin and really wants to have sex with a woman, so Eric asks Veronica to have sex with Johnny. Under the guidance of Eric and with tips from Steve, Johnny slowly becomes a good hustler. Steve then asks Johnny to join him in entertaining some gay clients for a potentially large payment. Johnny refuses because it is Eric's birthday, much to the annoyance of Steve, who really needs the money from the clients who will only pay if both Steve and Johnny arrive. When Eric remains sombre, Johnny questions him, they argue, and Eric finally confesses his love for Johnny. Johnny tells Eric that he really cares for Eric too because Eric has been the best friend that he has ever had, and asks Eric to move with him to Charlotte. Delighted to find out that Johnny really cares for him, Eric agrees. J.T., a sociopathic drug dealer, tosses Johnny a package while running from the police. It contains

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

and cash. Steve finds it in their place and steals it. When J.T. shows up looking for it, it's missing. J.T. holds Johnny hostage while Eric looks for Steve. Steve refuses to return the cash and the drugs, so Eric heads to Veronica's place. There he steals the gun belonging to her police officer boyfriend and heads home. J.T. is playing William Tell with Johnny, shooting a can of tomato soup off his head. Eric comes in and thinks Johnny's been shot. He gets into a gun battle with J.T., killing him. Johnny and Eric flee but Eric realizes he's been shot. Eric dies in Johnny's arms, giving Johnny his lucky silver dollar. At the bus station, Johnny puts the dollar in a

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

and hits a jackpot. He buys a bus ticket and leaves town. A year later, Veronica is working as a cocktail waitress. She glances up at a television and sees Johnny. He's a member of a

pit crew In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...

, having taken a step toward realizing his dream.

Cast

* Jesse Bradford as Johnny *

as Eric * Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Steve *

as Veronica * Tiffani Thiessen as Wilma Price *

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bir ...

as Donna * Justin Urich as Scooby * Adrienne Frantz as Kelley * Patrick Renna as Bud * Erik Alexander Gavica as Jason "J.T." Torres * Timothy McNeil as Russel *

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and ...

as Brentley Shaw *

Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his b ...

as Travis * Richard Balin as Ticket Man * Jaime Bergman as Bombshell #1

Production

''Speedway Junky'' was filmed in 1998 and screened at indie festivals. However, it did not get a theatrical release until 2001 due to struggles with finding a distributor.Hensley, Dennis
"Speedway to Stardom"
"The Advocate", 5 June 2001

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, speedway_junky 1999 films 1999 LGBT-related films American LGBT-related films American auto racing films American crime drama films Films about male prostitution in the United States Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Male bisexuality in film 1990s English-language films Films directed by Nickolas Perry 1990s American films 1999 crime drama films