Jamesy Boy

Starring: Spencer Lofranco, Mary-Louise Parker, & Ving Rhames

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I have always been a huge fan of real life drama, because lets face it, some of this stuff you just can't make up. Even the best writers couldn't imagine some of the things these people have had to endure, and it makes for some amazing films. On the otherside of that, there are other stories, which just aren't that unique or interesting, and in my opinion really don't warrent a full length feature film, Jamesy Boy is an example of this. James (Spencer Lofranco) is your typical rebellious kid from a single parent home. He's not poor and has a lot of opportunities, but for whatever reason, he's turned to drugs and crime. He's living the gangsta life on the streets until the inevitable happens, and he winds up in jail. Once there, James witnesses a crime, and meets a man who helps him unlock a talent he never knew he had, but will James turn to the straight and narrow or will his friends pull him back into his old life? This is a true story and newcomer Spencer Lofranco was fantastic, but haven't we seen stories like this done over and over again? To be honest the only reason I kept watching it was to see which path James chose after prison. I wanted to see how his life turned out, but either way, we've seen films like this many times before and Jamesy Boy doesn't stand out in any type of significant way. If you want to do a film that has been done over and over again, true story or not, there has to be something about it that makes it stand out from the pack, and that doesn't happen here. The bottom line, Jamesy Boy is decent and it's fine if you're just looking to kill a couple of hours. It features a pretty good up and coming young talent and some old familiar faces, but beyond that, there's nothing really special about it.