The reason being my father was in this movie right when he was out of high school, still living in Chicago. Right around 9 minutes in during the scene where all the "students" are standing outside the "high school", he was standing there with his group of friends at the time almost dead center of the camera in the dark blue and white checkered shirt. It's fascinating to me because I never knew my dad during this time since this movie was filmed 3 years before I was born. He had hair and was incredibly thin, which of course 30 years later much has changed. I believe he told me the school or building (can't even remember if that building WAS a school because I don't think the interior that was filmed was the same building) was in a very dangerous neighborhood and they were told not to be there after dark. So they could only be around during the day while filming and he got lucky and became an extra. This was the entire reason I knew of this film nearly 20 years after it's creation and watched it and loved it. It's an awesome film even though you can clearly tell it was from the 80's (Similar to watching something like The Warriors) it sends a message that is timeless and still relevant to this day. It's incredibly powerful and still one of my favorite movies and since Sean Penn is an incredible actor, it's great to see him at such a young age before his career had really taken off. Definitely give this movie a watch, it starts out kind of slow in my opinion but once it gets to the meat of the film where the rest of it takes place, it's a wild ride.

I look at this as a sequel to Fast Times at Ridgement High(1982). Jeff Spicoluoi has graduated from high school. Jennifer Jason Leigh is nowhere to be seen, Mr. Hand is dead, and Judge Reinhold is trapped inside Fred Savage's little preteen body. Jeff Spicoluoi has been kicked out of his parents' house for not having a job, the mean, tough, rough, wrong kind of love from any parent to any son or daughter, whether we as a son and daughter are adopted, a stepson or stepdaughter, or a real son and daughter belonging to real parents, a real Daddy and Mommy, Dad and Mom, Pa and Ma, Pops and Momma, WRONG! Wrong, wrong what I just said before. With no money to buy the stuff he was seen smoking in Fast Times at Ridgement High(1982), that stuff he was seen smoking was called pot, his dreams of being a star surfer go away, the dreams of being a star surfer go up in smoke, there's no more dreams of being a star surfer for Jeff Spicoluoi, because Jeff Spicoluoi does not have the smoking stuff to smoke out of his mouth, what we all as people like to call pot, the stuff that people smoke, because Jeff Spicoluoi is not alone. Everyone here on this world and planet here we call Earth smokes pot. That's why in Fast Times at Ridgement High(1982), in the movie we saw, Spicoluoi was a star surfer, Jeff Spicoluoi was smoking pot. Jeff Spicoluoi in this movie here I'm writing about on the computer, Bad Boys(1983), Jeff Spicoluoi has no pot, so he turns to and does bad stuff, because Jeff Spicoluoi does not have pot, Jeff Spicoluoi turns to and does crime. Jeff Spicoluoi gets tossed in jail because of crime, and Jeff Spicoluoi keeps pulling the punches, like another Irish guy in another movie, Jimmy Cagney in White Heat(1949). Jeff Spicoluoi gets out of jail, marries and divorces Madonna, works for the LAPD, and wins a couple of Oscars. A regret free life for Mr. Jeff Spicoluoi.

Bad Boys certainly has a lot going for it on many levels, but there are enough implausible moments in the script that keep it from any type of "classic" status. The story centers around Sean Penn playing an angry and violent young hood from the streets of Chicago getting sent to a tough juvenile detention center after accidentally killing a young boy during a botched robbery attempt. The balance of the story deals with Penn adjusting to his new confinement and having to prove how tough he is again and again. Once he has established himself as the toughest kid in the place, the plot is turned on its side. The older brother of the boy he killed (Morales) is also sent to the facility... for raping and almost killing Penn's girlfriend as revenge for the boy's death! From the moment he arrives, everyone knows that the score will have to be settled once and for all. Who will survive??Yes, its a pretty good premise, but too many detours are taken before the anticipated climax finally arrives. And many of them just don't make sense. First of all, there is no doubt that Penn's character is one tough punk. Yet he is just not physically imposing enough to be the "barn boss" as the toughest inmate is called. Yes, he whips the two punks who once held the title in a crafty manner, but there would no doubt have been many others waiting in line for that title. Another problem deals with Penn's escape attempt. After learning of his girlfriend's rape, he actually breaks out of the facility and somehow is able to make it all the way back to Chicago from the location several miles out in the country. Even if he were actually able to do this (which wouldn't be likely), notice how once he's captured and returned to the lockup, they don't even punish him!! Uh huh! I'm guessing the escape and brief rendezvous with the badly bruised girlfriend were meant to establish some sort of motivation for Penn wanting to kill Morales. But honestly, would this type of character need such motivation? Not likely. In addition, Penn is momentarily taken to the state prison for adults and warned that this is the path he is headed down if he screws up again. And apparently this is why he initially refuses to fight Morales when he first arrives at the facility. Penn just wants to do his remaining time and split. Again, not likely. A guy like this would not hesitate to accept a challenge from any man who violated his woman. Another problem deals with how Morales and Penn are left in the same cell block right up to the moment Morales is about to be transferred to another facility. Wouldn't it have been a better idea to keep the two sequestered from one another, even if it meant putting one of them in the hole for a while??? But then we couldn't have had our final fight then, could we? Oh, well.There are a lot of good aspects of this film, too. The acting is outstanding, the casting is picture perfect, and the locations look authentic. The film is full of surprises, and a lot of them work. The Jewish whiz-kid who shares a cell with Penn steals every scene he's in. Look for a young Clancy Brown as the yard boss de-throned by Penn. Ally Sheedy gives a good performance, but she doesn't look like she belongs in that neighborhood! And I like the fact that the film doesn't try to make Penn or any of the others out to be misunderstood kids. They are all rotten to the core and deserve their punishment! Despite some flaws with the script, Bad Boys is still worth at least 7 of 10 stars.The Hound.

Bad Boys, starring Sean Penn as Mick O'Brien and Esai Morales as Paco Moreno, is one of the most entertaining and disturbing movies ever. But to focus on the two leads is unfair to the host of other actors who put in magnificent performances, particularly actor Eric Gurry as Barry Horowitz.Teen Mick O'Brien is a vicious gangster punk. When one of his armed robbery schemes goes awry, a robbery of a drug deal involving Paco Moreno, he unintentionally runs down and kills Moreno's little brother, and ends up in juvenile prison. His cell mate is Horowitz. After an awkward start they become close friends and confidantes. Horowitz, who has been there a while, teaches O'Brien the ropes. Meanwhile prison guard and counselor Ramon Herrera (actor Reni Santoni) wants to set Mick on the right path, but this is not an easy task.The prison officials have given authority over other prisoners to two tough inmates, cell mates Viking (actor Clancy Brown) and Tweety (actor Robert Lee Rush), who get to hand out prison work assignments, receive the profits from cigarette sales, etc. They immediately come into conflict with O'Brien and Horowitz. O'Brien manages to usurp their position of authority, leading to further conflicts. O'Brien's toughness and street smarts make him the winner time and again.The character of Horowitz, a young Jewish boy who came to juvey after a botched revenge plot, is worth a whole review by itself. What a shame that this magnificent actor, Eric Gurry, has appeared in relatively few films. Though he is small and weak and would appear to be of little help in a fight, his wit, dogged determination and superior intelligence help him to survive in this environment where he is very out of place. Despite being nothing like the other prisoners, as the film progresses we learn that he has strong criminal tendencies and prison is probably where he belongs.Moreno, seeking revenge on O'Brien, beats and rapes O'Brien's girlfriend (actress Ally Sheedy) so he can go to prison and get even. Tweety is paroled, and Moreno moves in as Viking's roommate. These kindred spirits promptly begin plotting against O'Brien.Circumstances take both Viking and Horowitz out of the picture, leaving Moreno and O'Brien to face a final showdown alone.