Synopsis
Based on the true story of teenager James Burns who goes from a suburban street gang to a maximum-security prison cell surrounded by hardened criminals. He turns his life around in prison thanks to the unexpected friendship he forms with a convicted murderer who becomes his mentor.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Spencer LofrancoJames
- Mary-Louise ParkerTracy
- Ving RhamesConrad
- James WoodsLt. Falton
- Taissa FarmigaSarah
- Rosa SalazarCrystal
- Michael TrotterRoc
- Ben RosenfieldChris
- TabooGuillermo
- Robert F. ChewFat Ass Manager
Recommendations
- 50
The Dissolve
Jamesy Boy has its heart in the right place, and first-time director Trevor White shows some skill with actors, but the film lacks a compelling reason to exist, except perhaps as a public-service announcement. - 50
Los Angeles Times
The screenplay by Lane Shadgett and director Trevor White relies far too much on telling rather than showing. - 38
RogerEbert.com
The poems — and the film as a whole — fail to flesh James out as a whole and complicated human being worth rooting for. - 30
Village Voice
Director Trevor White frames the former teen gang member's life as an uplifting coming-of-age prison drama that feels entirely disconnected from the realities of incarceration. - 30
The Hollywood Reporter
Every word of the story may be true, and if it happened to someone you knew, you'd be captivated. In Jamesy Boy, though, it's hard to see why we should care. - 12
Slant Magazine
The movie adds up to little more than an interminable bildungsroman, sunk early and often by the desperately miscast Spencer Lofranco.
