Bad Boys

After his breakout role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sean Penn signed on for the part of Mick O'Brien, a Chicago delinquent engaged in petty crimes, who ends up in a juvenile reformatory when his attempt to rob a local drug dealer (Esai Morales) goes awry. While the actor was already a bit old to be playing a kid under 18, Penn does a pretty convincing job, bringing some dimension to a rather stock character in a standard lock-up melodrama. Unfortunately, the script is both simplistic and heavy-handed in its moralizing, as well as occasionally ludicrous (the authorities knowingly send Morales, whose little brother O'Brien accidentally killed, to the same juvenile facility). Previously released only on laserdisc in its full-length version, this new DVD includes the complete 123-minute feature as well as commentary by director Rick Rosenthal. Not a necessary purchase. (T. Rich)