Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Console best movie i've ever seen.

thomandybish JOHNS offers little in the way of comfort for the viewer. Unlike other films that skirt around the subject of child and male prostitution(WHERE THE DAY TAKES YOU)or couch the subject in arty symbolism and metaphor(MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO)JOHNS gives an unflinching portrait of these boys and the clients who exploit them. David Arquette is John, a seasoned street hustler who reluctantly takes under his wing Donner(Lukas Haas)a runaway and novice prostitute. Despite his flaky demeanor, Arquette turns in a studied performance, and Haas does what he seems to do best, stand around looking sad and introspective. It's a world where violence can and does erupt at any moment and the hustlers count a successful day as one in which they've managed to live through. Moving without any sentimentality. Try it.

twistofreality Some might find this film distasteful; in truth, it's realistic. It has a hint of Shakespearean tragedy in the death of the protagonist, John (David Arquette). Although its frank depictions of homosexuality, prostitution, and life on the streets are not for the timid, this movie should not be written off as merely trying to push the limits of cinematic expression. The cinematography is almost documentary-like, adding to its realism and tragic theme. This movie is not meant to be perverse, rebellious, or even remotely sexual. It is merely meant to be a proper depiction of the everyday sadness to which real life subjects its less fortunate inhabitants.

johndunbar Reading the various user comments by viewers makes me wonder if there is more than one movie called `Johns' with the same cast. I can't help but think that the negative reviewers never really watched the movie, or did so without any experiential background that would help them tune in to the movie's pathos. While I never was a hustler myself, I've known many and seen something of this world in Toronto. The point is that everyone on the street is looking for something in the wrong place and hence, not suprisingly, they never find it. Hustlers are looking for the sense of personal worth (reflected through others), for respect, for love, for pride of accomplishment and, most of all, for all these things to happen in a real community of folk, some of whom accept, love or reject their presentations. This movie brilliantly and realistically captures this pathos of impossible efforts to achieve normalcy. It is no wonder that Donner, brilliantly played by Lukas Haas, considers himself an `entertainer'. He knows that what others see in him in not a human being to relate to but an object of amusement. Oddly, and realistically, enough he does not realize that his efforts to attach to another in this context are equally futile. His desired object of attachement is unreceptive in this street world. His `love buddy' only wants to act out his fantasy of normalcy by spending Christmas (the quintessential time of naive, childhood joy) in a fancy hotel room. There are many things to admire in this movie but one cannot brand it `phony'. Bringing a portrayal of this kind of futile world populated by largely unfulfilled people requires a deft directorial hand, an understated script and some sensitive acting. We get all these things in `Johns'.

moggy-4 Luckily, I came upon this on tv and started watching it before I knew the title. If I had seen the title, I would have dismissed it as another dreary sex film and that it is not.It's very watchable, the characters sympathetic, including small parts- the man, John, who gives one of them a sandwich, and especially Paul, the reservations clerk at the hotel. Since most viewers are young, esp. for films like this, for the record, my kids are older than the lead characters, and I enjoyed this moving film.