Hangin' with the Homeboys

Hangin' with the Homeboys
Directed by	Joseph Vasquez
Produced by	Richard Brick
Written by	Joseph Vasquez
Starring	Doug E. Doug Mario Joyner John Leguizamo Nestor Serrano
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release dates	April 5, 1991
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Hangin' with the Homeboys is a 1991 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Vasquez.^[1] It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.^[2] It was released by New Line Cinema.^[3]

Plot

The film revolves around four friends, all young men going nowhere with their lives. Tom and Johnny have dead-end jobs (one works as a telemarketer and aspires to be an actor, the other is a supermarket clerk), while Willie and Fernando (who prefers the name "Vinny") are unemployed and use people to get what they want. They go for a "guys' night" out on the town from the Bronx to Manhattan, and fall victim to various disasters, (Tom wrecks his car, Willie gets the guys thrown out of a party, etc.) most of which they bring on themselves. During their "night out", their relationships with one another become strained as the various situations lead to conflict between them, and by the end of the movie they have all separated.

Main characters

• Mario Joyner plays Tom, an aspiring actor who works as a telemarketer while waiting for his big break. His girlfriend cancels their date for the night, so he goes out with his friends, and later finds out she is out with another man. At the end of the movie, he reveals that he is weary of his friends and their destructive and derisive behavior between themselves. He is especially angry at Willie and Vinny, who manipulate him into paying for them because they are unemployed, but constantly criticize and make fun of him.
• Doug E. Doug plays Willie, an angry unemployed bum who embraces the Black Power movement, but is genuinely devoted to his best friend Johnny. He has a tenuous friendship with Vinny and a passing friendship with Tom (which disintegrates when Tom calls him on his mooching). He is hypocritical, calling Tom a failure even though he is comparable to a bum, and describing a black female he encounters towards the end of the film as an Uncle Tom because she "dresses white", but he is not a member of any political organization and does not even vote.
• Nestor Serrano plays Fernando (aka Vinny), a philandering Puerto Rican who is ashamed of his heritage and pretends to be Italian, much to Johnny's horror. He later has to confront this fact when a police officer asks him about his nationality. The oldest of the four, he is cynical and verbally abusive to virtually everyone. He is a sex-hound who tries to talk to every pretty girl he sees. He is both amused at and contemptuous of Johnny's naivete and has a strained interaction with him because he sees him as a sad individual who would depress everybody in the gang, especially him. Vinny is unemployed, but is supported by the generosity of his many girlfriends. Hypocritically, he openly derides Willie's lack of employment.
• John Leguizamo plays Johnny, the youngest of the group, who is idealistic and naive. Also Puerto Rican, Johnny is very proud of his heritage, unlike Vinny. He works at a grocery store, but has an opportunity for a scholarship. Romantically naive and having a rather chivalrous ideal towards love, he is infuriated to find Vinny dancing suggestively with Daria, the girl he has a secret crush on. The last straw comes when Vinny selfishly demands an apology for "ruining his night". Instead, Johnny punches him on the jaw and knocks him unconscious. At the end of the movie, the disastrous night makes him decide to go for the scholarship and start a new chapter in his life, away from his "friends".

Soundtrack

1. "The Power (Homeboys Mix)" - Snap!
2. "Rock Bottom" - 2 in a Room
3. "Dance All Night (House Mix)" - Poison Clan (The Baby 2 Live Crew)
4. "Swingin'" - Prince Akeem
5. "Ticket to Heaven" - The Knowledge (Feat. Kenny Bobien)
6. "Do You Believe" - Beat Goes Bang
7. "Pretty Girls" - Stevie B
8. "Games" - Trinere
9. "We Want Some Pussy" - 2 Live Crew
10. "Vacate the Premises" - The 2awk
11. "What Is Black" - Billy Box
12. "Hangin' With the Homeboys and Dr. Feelgood" - 2 Live Crew and Triple XXX

References

1. Holden, Stephen (May 24, 1991). Review/Film; Homeboys Hangin' Downtown. New York Times
2. Harmetz, Aljean (January 17, 1991). Sundance Film Festival veers from mainstream. New York Times
3. Salzberg, Charles (May 19, 1991). FILM; How the 'Homboys' Got That Way. New York Times

External links

• Hangin' with the Homeboys at the Internet Movie Database