| Where the Day Takes You | |
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Video release poster |
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| Directed by | Marc Rocco |
| Produced by | Paul Hertzberg |
| Written by | Marc Rocco Michael Hitchcock Kurt Voss |
| Starring | Sean Astin Lara Flynn Boyle Peter Dobson Balthazar Getty Ricki Lake James LeGros Dermot Mulroney Will Smith |
| Cinematography | King Baggot |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | September 11, 1992 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million[1] |
Where the Day Takes You is a 1992 drama film directed by Marc Rocco. The film tells the story of teenage runaways trying to survive on the streets of Los Angeles. The film was nominated for the "Critics Award" at the Deauville Film Festival and won the Golden Space Needle Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Where the Day Takes You marked the feature film debut of Will Smith and featured an ensemble cast that includes Dermot Mulroney, Sean Astin, Balthazar Getty, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ricki Lake, James LeGros, Laura San Giacomo, David Arquette, and Christian Slater. The film was primarily shot on location in Los Angeles and Venice, California and included several songs by Melissa Etheridge.
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Fleeing abusive families, a group of teenage runaways form a protective family on their own, with King as their leader. King is a man in his early twenties who has been living on the street for over six years. In and out of jail, he spends most of his nights with Little J and Greg. Having spent two months in jail for being falsely accused of murder, he feels that the group fell apart in his absence. His friend Brenda, a lot of the time bullied by Little J because of her weight, introduces him to Heather, a 17-year-old girl from Chicago. He soon takes her under his protection and includes her in his revenge on Tommy, the man responsible for the death of his former girlfriend Devon.
One night, Greg and Little J get into a fight while stealing stereos out of cars. Greg, mad that the group always takes Little J's side, seeks refuge with his drug dealer Ted and his girlfriend Vikki. He sends him away, however, because he doesn't have any money. Greg, not knowing what to do, goes home, but his father has him arrested for grand theft. Meanwhile, King and Heather have trouble earning money, but he insists that they won't get into prostitution, unlike Little J's friend Kimmy. Little J is lured into prostitution by his friend Rob, but while servicing his client Charles, he is reminded of the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of his uncle. In jail, Greg admits to being addicted to drugs and a social worker gets him into a rehabilitation center, which will grant him parole.
Meanwhile, Tommy, after threatening and beating up his crippled friend Manny, finds out where King is staying. He beats him up and almost stabs him, when Little J shoots Tommy in the back. The group decides to run away, leaving Tommy to die. King and Heather get away, but their friend Crasher is soon arrested. King advises Heather to return to Chicago, but she refuses to go without him. After a day begging for money, they decide to go to a hotel and spend the night making love. She later admits to him that she ran away home because her brother abused her. Little J, meanwhile, takes refuge at Kimmy's for a while, but he is kicked out by Rob and decides to contact Charles again. Greg runs away from the rehabilitation center in the meantime, but he is unable to find the group. He goes to Ted, who is worried about him because he hasn't slept for four days and tries to help him by shooting him up with heroin.
When Crasher is out of jail, he tries to convince King and Heather to go with him to Dallas, announcing that the police are looking for them. King doesn't want to leave without Greg and Little J and starts to look for them. He is shocked to find Greg lying in his own puke, high on drugs at Ted's place. He promises to go with him, but he is arrested by the police before he can. They next find Little J under a bridge, being kicked out of Charles' house and regretting having shot a person. King, Heather and Little J decide to leave without anyone else. Meanwhile, Greg, out of jail after having talked to the police about King's whereabouts, returns to Ted and overdoses on heroin. On their bus, going to a new destination to start a new life, King decides to get out to look for Greg, but he is arrested by the police. Little J tries to save them and attempts to shoot the police, which forces them to shoot Little J. King, however, jumps in front of him and is shot and killed. Heather witnesses this and is left in tears. She decides not to leave Los Angeles, but to wait until Little J is released from jail. Together, accompanied by Brenda, they return to the streets, using the practice that King taught them.
The film's director, Marc Rocco was attracted to the production when he read the script from Michael Hitchcock. Hitchcock was inspired to write the script due to his experience on working at a shelter for teenage runaways in Hollywood.[1]
Despite the low budget, the film features an ensemble cast. Most cast members worked, against the advice of their agents, for a small salary.[1] They prepared for their role by spending days with actual teenage runaways in the Hollywood district.[1] Rocco explained their enthusiasm to work on the project in a 1992 interview: "So few scripts let these actors actually act, so few studios give these actors anything but light comedies, there are so few chances to let these actors create dimensional people."[1]
Supporting cast member Alyssa Milano initially auditioned for the role of Heather, but fear of casting a former child actress initiated the producers to find her a smaller role instead.[2]
The film was first released on DVD in 2003 by Columbia TriStar Home Video, but in full frame and without any bonus materials. The DVD was later discontinued for reasons ungiven. In October 2009, Anchor Bay released a new DVD of the film, in its original widescreen presentation, but still without any bonus features, save for the film's trailer.
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