This movie-length after school special with swear words beeped out was probably groundbreaking in 1982, but the expected moment of high courtroom drama and its "message" is delivered with all the ham-fisted finesse that must have seemed impressive to rural folks during a time when television consisted of three stations (four if you count PBS). As if to drive the point home that this is the 1980s, there is a montage set to rock music, ending in fake blood and a hospital stay. Watch the drunk driving scene closely, the driver is obviously a middle-aged stunt driver. In contrast to some of the superlatives thrown in Sheen's direction by other reviewers, I thought his performance in general was forced, such as when he went nuts over the spilled milk or started shouting in the courthouse; it is possible for Sheen to overact, and for low TV production values to be confined to only a few takes instead of the multiple ones that might have guaranteed a better portrayal of a struggling blue-collar worker who has been out of work for six months. So back to the "message", it's clear that incarceration exacerbates the issues that cause a man to be imprisoned in the first place, but it was a few weeks in the slammer, not a multi-year stretch in a federal prison. He could have read books or drew pictures to kill the time, so I'm calling BS on the message as it was portrayed. One last thing, that Ed Lauter was a solid character actor who nicely filled out any film he appeared in.

Martin Sheen is such a strong actor that he capable of lifting even the most mediocre of films.Im not saying that In The Custody Of Strangers is a bad film,on the contrary it is a good compact story with a strong message aimed at youngsters about the cause and effect of juvenile delinquency.The casting of Sheen and Estevez as father and son adds resonance to the story and helps lift the project above the level it would have otherwise have been at.A lot about the film has dated,the cheesy rock soundtrack featuring Billy Idol and the like traps it in its time but the message hasn't aged,do wrong,and you will open yourself up to having your life turned on its head.

In the Custody of Strangers (1982) was another made-for-t.v. movie to star the father and son team of Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. As usual, the films that star Mr. Sheen as always thought provoking and they raise certain issues that effect people in general. A sort of a social message movie for the mainstream folks.The story is about a father and his wild son. He's a loud mouth fool who's always getting into his father's hair. One night he's out having a few pops whilst driving. Being a real careless teen, he's driving will under the influence. After being pulled over by the cops and booked for D.U.I., his father refuses to bail the young punk out. Dad feels that his ungrateful soon needs a reality check. But the police have no place for a minor (they probably didn't think a parent was dumb enough to leave a minor overnight in an adult jail).Well, you can imagine what happens to poor Emilio. Still wet behind the ears, a fellow drunk drunk tries to molest him. Not taking any smack from nobody, Emilio severely hurts the dude. The keystone cops have nothing else to do but lock-up Emilio for a longer stint in the gaol house. What's a young hot headed juvenile going to do? Meanwhile, Martin's feeling a little guilty tries to get his kid out but then he hears about Emilio's extracurricular activities. Will he ever see the light of day? A kid inside a man's gaol.Like I said, the movie raises a lot of questions about how juvenile perpetrators are treated by law enforcement. Another entertaining made-for-t.v.-movie starring the ever reliable Martin Sheen.Recommended.

In this film Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez play father and son with bad tempers and a lot of pent-up anger. When the son Danny gets arrested one night for driving drunk and rear-ending a police car, his out-of-work father decides to `teach him a lesson' and decides to let him spend the night in jail. One thing leads to another and soon Danny is spending day after day behind bars having become enmeshed in the system.Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez are both very good in their respective roles and the other characters are well done as well. While the script has a bit of an `after-school-special' feel about it, it is consistently interesting and it does serve to tell a story that needs telling.