Johns (film)
Encyclopedia
Johns is a 1996 American
drama film
starring David Arquette
and Lukas Haas
, who portray hustlers who work Santa Monica Boulevard. The title refers both to the slang term for a sex client and to several characters in the film named John (including Arquette's).
Johns was one of several films dealing with this subject matter that were released in 1996. Others included Skin & Bone (in which Arquette had a cameo as a client) and Hustler White
.
) is asleep in a Los Angeles
park. He awakens as someone is stealing his shoes, in which he keeps his money. He chases the thief but can't catch him. John is angered not only because those are his "lucky" sneakers but because he's trying to accumulate enough money for an overnight stay in a fancy hotel to celebrate his birthday, which is also Christmas. Each time John puts any money together, either by turning a trick, robbing the house of one of his regular "dates" or stealing from potential clients, it's taken from him either by robbery or in payback for a drug deal where he burned the dealer.
Meanwhile, Donner (Lukas Haas
), a fellow hustler who's new to the streets and has fallen for John, tries to convince John to go with him to Branson, Missouri
. Donner has a relative who runs a theme park there who can get them jobs. John is initially resistant to the idea but, after some particularly bad experiences, agrees to go.
John and Donner have enough money for two bus tickets to Branson but John takes one last "date" to earn money for expenses. After their sexual encounter at a motel, however, John's "date" turns violent, beating John unmercifully.
Donner goes in search of John and finds him at the motel. Donner drags John's lifeless body from the bathroom to the bed and tearfully confesses that he's the one who stole John's sneakers and money in a desperate attempt to persuade John to leave town with him.
The next morning, Donner dons John's lucky sneakers and boards the bus for Branson.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
and Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
, who portray hustlers who work Santa Monica Boulevard. The title refers both to the slang term for a sex client and to several characters in the film named John (including Arquette's).
Johns was one of several films dealing with this subject matter that were released in 1996. Others included Skin & Bone (in which Arquette had a cameo as a client) and Hustler White
Hustler White
Hustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satiric black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers in Santa Monica, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema...
.
Plot
It's Christmas Eve and John (David ArquetteDavid Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
) is asleep in a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
park. He awakens as someone is stealing his shoes, in which he keeps his money. He chases the thief but can't catch him. John is angered not only because those are his "lucky" sneakers but because he's trying to accumulate enough money for an overnight stay in a fancy hotel to celebrate his birthday, which is also Christmas. Each time John puts any money together, either by turning a trick, robbing the house of one of his regular "dates" or stealing from potential clients, it's taken from him either by robbery or in payback for a drug deal where he burned the dealer.
Meanwhile, Donner (Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
), a fellow hustler who's new to the streets and has fallen for John, tries to convince John to go with him to Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
. Donner has a relative who runs a theme park there who can get them jobs. John is initially resistant to the idea but, after some particularly bad experiences, agrees to go.
John and Donner have enough money for two bus tickets to Branson but John takes one last "date" to earn money for expenses. After their sexual encounter at a motel, however, John's "date" turns violent, beating John unmercifully.
Donner goes in search of John and finds him at the motel. Donner drags John's lifeless body from the bathroom to the bed and tearfully confesses that he's the one who stole John's sneakers and money in a desperate attempt to persuade John to leave town with him.
The next morning, Donner dons John's lucky sneakers and boards the bus for Branson.
Cast
- David ArquetteDavid ArquetteDavid Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
as John - Lukas HaasLukas HaasLukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
as Donner - Wilson CruzWilson CruzWilson Cruz is an American actor, known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life and a recurring character on Noah's Arc...
as Mikey - Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
as Homeless John - Christopher GartinChristopher GartinChristopher Russell Gartin is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role in the 1996 film Tremors 2: Aftershocks as cab driver Grady Hoover. He also had roles in the films As Virgins Fall, Johns and the comedy Friends & Family...
as Eli - Elliott GouldElliott GouldElliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
as Manny Gold - Terrence Dashon HowardTerrence HowardTerrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
as Jimmy the Warlock - Nicky KattNicky KattNicholas Lea "Nicky" Katt is an American actor known for his role as unorthodox teacher Harry Senate on David E. Kelley's Fox drama Boston Public.-Career:...
as Mix - Richard KindRichard KindRichard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
as Paul Truman - John C. McGinleyJohn C. McGinleyJohn Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
as Danny Cohen - Richard Timothy JonesRichard T. JonesRichard Timothy Jones is an American film and television actor.Jones was born in Kobe, Japan and raised in Carson, California. He is the son of Lorene, a computer analyst, and Clarence Jones, a professional baseball player and the hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians. He also has an older...
as Mr. Popper - Alanna UbachAlanna UbachAlanna Noel Ubach is an American actress and voice actress. She is known for her roles in Legally Blonde as Serena and Meet the Fockers as Isabel Villalobos...
as Nikki - Arliss HowardArliss HowardArliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
as John Cardoza - Nina SiemaszkoNina SiemaszkoNina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
as Tiffany the Prostitute - Craig BierkoCraig BierkoCraig Philip Bierko is an American actor and singer.-Early life:Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, the son of Pat and Rex Bierko, who ran a local community theatre. Bierko's mother was a Jewish convert to Roman Catholicism...
as Christmas Radio Preacher
Awards and nominations
- San Sebastián International Film FestivalSan Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
Best New Director - Scott Silver (1996)