Bad Boys (1983 film)
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| Bad Boys | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Rick Rosenthal |
| Produced by | EMI Films |
| Written by | Richard Di Lello |
| Starring | Sean Penn Esai Morales Alan Ruck Ally Sheedy Clancy Brown |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees Donald E. Thorin |
| Editing by | Antony Gibbs |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 25, 1983 |
| Running time | Theatrical cut 123 min. DVD cut 104 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Gross revenue | $9.2 million |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Bad Boys is a 1983 American juvenile delinquent melodrama set primarily in a juvenile detention center.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is a 16-year-old Irish hood from Chicago. While most of Mick's crimes involve snatching purses, vandalism, and getting into brawls, he aspires to bigger and better things, which leads him to attempt ripping off a rival hood, Paco Moreno (Esai Morales). Everything goes wrong: Mick's partner and best friend (Alan Ruck) is killed, and Mick, while trying to escape the police, accidentally runs over and kills an eight-year-old boy who happens to be Paco's kid brother.
Because he's under 18, Mick is sent to the Rainford Juvenile Correctional Facility rather than a state prison for adults. However, as the film makes clear, this "juvenile correction facility" is not a place where troubled kids are reformed, but rather a place where they grow tougher, angrier, and more prepared for a life of adult crime. Most of the wardens and counselors seem to have resigned themselves to the role of zoo keepers, with the exception of Ramon Herrera (Reni Santoni), a former gang member who talks tough to the inmates, but holds out hope for some of them, especially Mick.
Mick's cell mate, a small, wiry Jewish kid named Barry Horowitz, (Eric Gurry), who gives the character both a much-needed sense of humor (thus inducing a few laughs into the otherwise grim material) and an element of danger (he is at the reform school because he firebombed a bowling alley in an attempt to kill some kids who beat him up). In a story like this, there are always the toughest thugs in the group, in this case a couple of brawny sadists named Viking (Clancy Brown) and Tweety (Robert Lee Rush). As soon as their alpha male status is established, the plot demands that Mick's first step toward defining himself will be to stand up to them, but the way in which he does it is so brutal and sudden that it feels surprising.
To get revenge for the slaying of his 8-year-old brother, Paco rapes Mick's girlfriend J.C. Walenski (Ally Sheedy), leaving her bitter and humiliated. Mick becomes desperate to see her, so he and Horowitz manage to escape the double perimeter fence during football practice via the use of corrosive on the fences, making them weak enough to kick open. Both try to get away, Mick succeeds but Horowitz falls on barbed wire and is then caught. Ramon senses that Mick had gone to his girlfriend's house, and soon picks him up.
When the police are alerted to the rape and arrest Paco, he is sentenced to the same dormitory at Rainford that Mick is in. The staff are truly aware of this potential danger, but no other reform school has vacancy.
To get revenge on Viking, Horowitz plants fertilizer into a radio that he gives to him to use. When the charge explodes he is condemned to solitary confinement for good.
Eventually Paco finds out about his transfer, and the night before it he carries out the showdown between him and Mick. In order to avoid staff intervention, Herrera, who was on night patrol, is injured by Paco after he pretends to have a burst appendix. The door into the cells is then barricaded, and the entire dormatory is aroused by the brawl. Eventually, Mick comes out on top, and the movie ends with him defeating Paco, yet ultimately sparing Paco's life.
[edit] Cast
- Sean Penn as Mick O'Brien
- Esai Morales as Paco Moreno
- Alan Ruck as Carl Brennan
- Ally Sheedy as J.C. Walenski
- Clancy Brown as "Viking" Lofgren
- Robert Lee Rush as Warren "Tweety" Jerome
- Reni Santoni as Ramon Herrera
- Jim Moody as Gene Daniels
- Eric Gurry as Barry Horowitz
Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Jamie Lee Curtis has a cameo as a long-haired passerby on the street when Esai Morales' character ventures into the building of the drug deal. Curtis starred in Halloween II (1981), also directed by Rick Rosenthal.
- A cinema marquee shows Halloween II, also directed by Rick Rosenthal.
- All the actors did their own stunts.
- Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, and Kevin Bacon all auditioned for the lead role of Mick O'Brien.
- Ally Sheedy's feature film debut.
- Rick Rosenthal cast his real-life father as the judge.
- The photos used during the opening credits were photos of Sean Penn and the other actors as children.
- Sean Penn broke his ankle during the scene where he runs through the woods after escaping the reform school. Production had to be shut down for eight weeks because of Penn's injury.
- The reform school was actually a set built in the Naval Armory in Chicago. The cost for the set was $500,000.
- Sean Penn insisted on being called the name of his character, Mick O'Brien, during production of the movie.
[edit] Goofs
- In a fight scene near the climax, a member of crew (complete with camera) is visible.
- Position of Paco when leaning up against the locker.
- Obvious mannequin that Mick hits into when crashing the car.
- When Mick and Barry are talking in the shower, the shadow of the boom mike moves back and forth on the wall when O'Brien walks away.
- When Barry is going to solitary, his lips do not match what he's saying.
- During the police line up, each of the possible suspects are told to turn around and face J.C. directly. Police line ups are never done in this manner. They are done with mirrored glass to protect the identity of the victim or witness.
[edit] Differences between theatrical and DVD cuts
- The differences between the full 123 min. version and the 104 min. version are:
- Mick playing his guitar in his bedroom
- Paco talking to his father
- Mick entering the correctional center and walking in
- A jogging scene where the new kid says Viking and Tweety are going to get him
- J.C. walking out of Walgreen's Supermarket
- Another scene where Viking and Tweety harass the new kid
- Longer scene of J. C. walking before she gets raped
- After the rape, there is a line-up where she identifies Paco
- Tweety getting released from the correctional center
- A scene where Mick hands out the work assignments
- A scene where Paco talks to Paretti about going 50/50
- Paco and Viking harass Horowitz and Mick while they're watching "Kiss Of Death" (1947)
- Another scene of Horowitz working on the fertilizer bomb
[edit] Distribution
Universal Pictures originally released this film in 1983, but in 1999 Artisan Entertainment took the rights and released the DVD, then in 2001 Anchor Bay Entertainment took the DVD rights and released, and in 2007 Facets Multimedia Distribution took the rights and released.
[edit] Release dates
- - March 25, 1983
- August 4, 1983
- August 12, 1983
- January 27, 1984
- February 3, 1984
- March 7, 1984
- April 8, 1984
- February 2, 1985
[edit] Pop culture references
- Leave It to Beaver - Barry says "Leave it to Beaver."
- Halloween II - Title of film is seen on marquee.
- Kiss of Death - The film is seen.
- Wonderland - The film shows this movie.
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] External links
- Bad Boys at the Internet Movie Database
- Bad Boys at Allmovie
