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Bad Boys (1983 film)

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Bad Boys
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRick Rosenthal
Written byRichard Di Lello
Produced byRobert Solo
StarringSean Penn
Esai Morales
Alan Ruck
Ally Sheedy
Clancy Brown
CinematographyBruce Surtees
Donald E. Thorin
Edited byAntony Gibbs
Music byBill Conti
Production
companies
EMI Films
Solofilm Company
Distributed byUniversal Studios
Release date
  • March 25, 1983 (1983-03-25)
Running time
123 minutes
104 minutes (Edited cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million
Box office$9,190,819

Bad Boys is a 1983 American crime drama film primarily set in a juvenile detention center, starring Sean Penn, Esai Morales, and Ally Sheedy in her film debut. The film is directed by Rick Rosenthal. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti.

Plot

Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is a 16-year-old Irish-American hoodlum from Chicago. While most of Mick's crimes involve snatching purses, vandalism, and getting into brawls, he aspires for bigger and better things, which leads him to attempt ripping off a rival, Paco Moreno (Esai Morales). Everything goes wrong: Mick's partner and best friend Carl (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 underage, 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 lowered themselves to the role of zookeepers, 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 cellmate is Barry Horowitz (Eric Gurry), a small, wiry Jewish kid who firebombed a bowling alley in a revenge attempt to scare some kids who beat him up (for hitting on their girlfriends). Their cell block is dominated by a pair of brawny sadists named "Viking" Lofgren (Clancy Brown) and Warren "Tweety" Jerome (Robert Lee Rush). As soon as their alpha male status is established, Mick takes his first step toward defining himself by standing up to them. To get revenge for his brother's death, Paco rapes Mick's girlfriend, J.C. (Ally Sheedy), leaving her bitter and humiliated. Mick is desperate to see her, so he and Horowitz escape the double perimeter fence during football practice via the use of corrosive placed on the fences, making them weak enough to kick open. Mick escapes, but Horowitz falls on barbed wire and is then caught where a counselor beats him up for calling him names and escaping. Ramon senses that Mick had gone to J.C.'s house, and soon picks him up. He then takes him on a trip to a maximum security prison to show what's in store for him, should he continue down the path of crime.

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 a vacancy. Meanwhile, in an attempt to kill Paco, Horowitz plants fertilizer into a radio that he has placed in Paco and Viking's cell. When the charge explodes prematurely and only injures Viking, Horowitz is condemned to permanent solitary confinement, a fate he fears more than any other. Eventually, Paco's transfer is arranged, so he plans his showdown with Mick for the night before. In order to avoid staff intervention, Herrera, who was on night patrol, is injured by Paco after he pretends to have a ruptured appendix. The door into the cells is then barricaded, and the entire dormitory is aroused by the brawl. Eventually, Mick comes out on top, and the film ends with him very nearly killing Paco but resisting at the last second. He then drags a beaten Paco in front of the caged Ramon and other detention officers and heads back to his cell, crying in remorse.

Cast

Distribution

Universal Studios originally released Bad Boys in 1983, and Thorn/EMI released it on videocassette, 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.[1]

Bad Boys was released on Blu-ray for the first time on February 1, 2010, presented "complete and uncut." [2]

Critical reception

Bad Boys garnered generally positive reviews; review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes currently holds an 87% "Fresh" rating based on 15 reviews from top critics.[3] David Denby of The New Yorker magazine argued, "Bad Boys is never less than tense and exciting, but it's coarse and grisly, an essentially demagogic piece of work".[4]

In his original review, Roger Ebert praised the direction and cinematography in particular and wrote, "The direction, by Richard Rosenthal, is sure-footed, confident and fluid; we are in the hands of a fine director".[5] In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Sean Penn's performance is the chief thing that separates Bad Boys from mere exploitation".[6] Perry Seibert of All Media Guide said "Bad Boys proves that great performances can overcome routine story lines."[7]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film comprised some late, eccentric funk tracks, as well as Billy Squier and Iron Maiden.

Cultural usage

The name of the Croatian ultras group Bad Blue Boys (who support NK Dinamo Zagreb) is said to have been inspired by Bad Boys.

A scene in which Mick hits 2 inmates with a sack of soda cans is parodied in the Family Guy episode Dial Meg for Murder when Meg beats up a group of popular kids with a sack of soda cans and cracking 3 of the kids skulls open which she is suspended for.

References

  1. ^ Bad Boys (1983) - Company credits. IMDb. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  2. ^ Bad Boys Blu-ray. Blu-Ray.com. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  3. ^ Bad Boys (1983). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  4. ^ New York Magazine Mar 28, 1983. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  5. ^ Bad Boys. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  6. ^ Bad Boys (1983): 'BAD BOYS' IN JAIL. The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  7. ^ Bad Boys: Critics' Reviews. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
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