Prison films can go either one of two ways. Option one sees the genre telling a tale of the indomitable human spirit that manages to triumph and find some sort of redemption through growth that could only be achieved in the characteristically hostile environment of the penal system. The second option sees man succumbing to his most savage instincts, satisfying the vicious circle of a system that tells people they’re animals thus causing them to act more inhumane with each passing day. Both speak volumes about the human condition and what we as a social species are capable of overcoming and what we are capable of doing to our fellow man at our worst. Bad Boys goes both directions at once by showing life within a juvenile detention facility where the prisoners in question aren’t so set in their criminal ways and still have a chance of turning their lives around for the better; we see both occur here, and it happens in the form of a superb performance by a young Sean Penn.
Paco (Esai Morales) and his friends have come across a stash of prescription drugs that will essentially make them rich, giving them all the much needed relief from their poverty-stricken lives and confirm their fantasy that you can get ahead in life on one lucky break. The night of the big sale, they’re ambushed by multiple parties looking to take the drugs as their own; two of the would-be thieves include Mick O’Brien (Sean Penn) and his friend Carl (Alan Ruck). The whole ordeal goes south, and Mick drives off with his friend dead and the police on his tail. One car crash later, he’s battered and bruised and sentenced to a juvenile detention facility (because this was back in the day when teens weren’t tried as adults for serious crimes). O’Brien begins to acclimate to his new world with the help of his roommate Horowitz (Eric Gurry), a short, wise-cracking technical genius whose sociopathic side comes out in unexpected bursts. The two watch one another’s backs to protect themselves against Viking (Clancy Brown), the toughest and one of the older inmates. All the while, O’Brien keeps in touch with his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) and begins to turn his life around. When Paco mugs and attempts to rape O’Brien’s girlfriend one night, he’s caught, identified and ends up in the same detention center as O’Brien where the two clash immediately and it’s clear from the first day that a final showdown is on the horizon. Will O’Brien rise above the savagery the detention center inspires? Or will he be drawn down to the animalistic level of conflict where Viking and Paco will get their revenge?
This is one of the better performances of Penn’s early career. It was before his days of attempting over-the-top affectations that have dragged down many of his more recent roles. Here we get to see a wild-eyed youth steeped in desperation yet intent on turning his life around in an environment that simultaneously encourages and hinders it. Penn plays the role well and seems to have received excellent direction from Director Rick Rosenthal. Morales, despite an absence from the middle third of the film, serves up enough quiet enraged animosity that he makes up for lost time and becomes a suitable foil for Penn’s O’Brien in a matter of 30-minutes’ time. The film is a log of O’Brien’s transformation from defiant youth to repentant weary soul; everything else in the mix is just a distraction to justify the film’s final showdown between O’Brien and Paco.
The film looks quite for a film remastered from 1983, but it’s not a film that ever requires the full 1080p spectrum. It’s always nice to see well-made films finally get transferred into HD and the picture looks great, but it’s debatable as to how much better the Blu-ray looks than an upscaled DVD, even after having been restored.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Beyond a hit-or-miss audio commentary with the director (which doesn’t always make itself worthwhile) there’s nothing to be found on the disc but a trailer and the feature itself. It would’ve been nice to see some interviews, even from a retrospective point of view, by Penn, Brown, Morales, or anyone else involved.
"Bad Boys (1983)" is on sale February 1, 2011 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Rick Rosenthal. Written by Richard Di Lello. Starring Alan Ruck, Clancy Brown, Sean Penn, Reni Santoni, Eric Gurry, Esai Morales, Ally Sheedy.
