Hangin' With the Homeboys

Writer/director Joseph B. Vasquez's tale of four boys from the South Bronx who spend a wild Friday night in Manhattan is not going to grab any honors for complexity of plot or gravity of subject matter, but it's hands down one of the most entertaining films I've seen this year. Johnny (John Leguizamo), the virgin; Willie (Doug E. Doug), the welfare case; Tom (Mario Joyner), the aspiring actor; and Vinny (Nestor Serrano), the womanizer; four guys who sound like total stereotypes (and stereotypes many would just as soon avoid, at that), but are really quite carefully crafted characters who, beneath their male bravura, are touchingly naive and vulnerable. Reminiscent of an earlier male bonding classic, Barry Levinson's Diner, Hangin' With the Homeboys grabs your attention with episodic comedy that reveals illusions and weakness. Johnny, embarrassed about his virginity, is nevertheless pretty outspoken on many another subject--he's the conscience of the homeboys, continually steering them away from potential trouble, and thereby earning the disgust of Vinny. Vinny, on the other hand, has his own little source of embarrassment: he's a Puerto Rican pretending to be Italian (a sad subterfuge which Johnny, who's proud of his Puerto Rican ancestry, continues to bring to Vinny's attention.) One of the boldest comedy strokes is Willie, who constantly bums money from the other homeboys, and--regardless of the situation--whenever thwarted immediately says: "it's cause I'm black, right?" While Tom, the fourth homeboy, is an ambitious sort who nevertheless kids himself about his "successful" acting career. If you look beyond the obvious tawdriness and the street language, Hangin' With the Homeboys is a film with heart and more than a little insight into the human condition. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--Jan. 26, 2004--New Line, 89 min., R, $19.98--Making its debut on DVD, the 1991 Hangin' With the Homeboys features a sharp and nicely color-saturated transfer, with both widescreen and full screen versions, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 or stereo soundtrack, but no extras. Bottom line: even without any extras, this is a still a fine film--and it looks very nice on DVD.]