| Director | Scott Silver |
|---|---|
| Box office | $50,789 |
It is Christmas Eve, and John (David Arquette) 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 cannot catch him. John is angered not only because those are his lucky sneakers but because he is 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, via prostitution or stealing from clients, it is 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 is 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 is remorseful for having gone through with the act. He insists to John that he is not gay. John smiles and says that he is not either. But his date believes that John is making a mockery of him and turns violent, beating John to death mercilessly.
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 is the one who stole the sneakers and money in a desperate attempt to persuade John to leave town with him.