Bad Boys (1983)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Rick Rosenthal

Starring: Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Ally Sheedy

Running time: 123 minutes

Mike O’Brien is 16-year old delinquent mostly known for petty crimes. One night, he decides to mess with a rival of his, Paco. It all goes awry, and, while fleeing from the cops, he accidently runs over and kills Paco’s little brother. He is sent to a juvenile detention center. While he is in there, Paco rapes Mike’s girlfriend as a way to seek revenge and then gets locked up in the same place.

Sean Penn was in his early twenties when this film was made, but he truly looks like a teenager. While he had not hit his peak yet, there was a lot of promise in that early performance of his and it would sure come to fruition later.

Bad Boys is a gritty crime drama movie where most of the action takes place in the rough section of a juvenile detention center. It is dirty and violent, not for the faint of heart.

Penn’s performance makes what could have easily become a generic exploitation film a good movie. Some of the other actors were not as good as the versatile and volatile Sean Penn, but, for the most part, they did their job well. The story of this movie is compelling enough to keep us hooked for the two hours it lasts. The lesson taught about rehabilitation and doing the right thing was nicely put in the end, not too thick as to be made totally obvious.

All things considered, this lesser-known movie is well worth a watch.

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