Hangin' with the Homeboys

Joseph Vasquez' portrayal of the lives of four friends as they prowl the night in search of good times predates the ubiquitous Swingers by four years. Hangin' is similar to its more popular cousin in its sweetness and incisiveness as it deals with the heartaches and fatal flaws of its protagonists. However, these nocturnal wanderers also have to deal with some of the more sublime facets of race relation as Nestor Serrano as Fernando, aka Vinnie, a Puerto Rican gigolo tries to convince everyone, including himself, he's Italian, or Doug E. Doug as Willie blames every one of his problems on the fact he is black and moreover accuses other black people he meets of "selling out" or "ignoring {their} African roots" while he has never participated in one rally or learned a single fact about African Nationalism. The film also features one of the earliest hints at the talents of comic/playwright John Leguziamo as sweet, introspective supermarket stock boy Johnny, a subdued, endearing performance by a man who's now known for extravagance. It's just a matter of time before Leguziamo gets that role which will make him a superstar. Mario Joyner completes the foursome as a lovelorn, less confident than he tries to exude, struggling actor, nee telemarketer, in a solid, if not spectacular performance. While this wonderful film rarely lets up on the laugh, it's also intelligent and inspiring, while at times heartbreaking. What's most heartbreaking is what came after this film; after the promise of his debut, Vasquez was given a ton of money and backing for his next feature, but the film had to be shut down after a week of shooting as Vasquez was walking around the soundstage proclaiming himself Jesus, among other insane ramblings. Within a year, Vasquez died of AIDS in relative obscurity, a tragic end to a man who showed signs of genius. Who knows what that genius might have led to, but while this film will never balance off what might have been, at least he was able to leave his mark with one great film. Hopefully more people will get to see it.

Four friends spend a Friday evening cruising around New York in this offbeat comedy-drama blend. The plot on the surface is pretty simple, but the film has some unexpected dimensions, evidenced by the terrific opening scene in which see how the racially diverse friends play on the fears and prejudices of others for laughs. And with two Puerto Ricans in the group (one who likes to trick girls into thinking that he's Italian) and two African Americans (one of whom plays the race card whenever things do not go his way), they are certainly a mixed bunch. All four actors are great in their roles and have very well developed characters who we come to know as individuals as the film progresses, each with their own insecurities - though some more pronounced than others. As the movie pans out, each friend undergoes an awakening of some sort as their fun Friday night on the town turns out to be an evening that causes them to reflect on their lives. The film is not as serious as all that though and there are several excellent comedic moments as the friends bet on whether certain girls are hot, try to see a X-rated film together and conduct business with a mysterious Jamaican in an alleyway.

This movie is a sure classic. Vasquez manages to touch many aspects in society. When dealing with race, jobs, and friendship he makes it easy to put it all in one day. There are many movies that consist in one day, but not all of them are successful. Vasquez manages to make every character totally different. Though 2 of them are Puerto Rican and the other two African American, each one has a strong role opposite to the same race as them. This is big part in the film since tension comes from everyone, and not just racially focused on the typical black and white. The filming is good also with night on night shots that depict a true night life in New York. Vasquez used slow close ups at points for tension and meaning. I really looked forward to more from this director also writer of the movie. It is rare we get voices that relate to a movie behind the scenes of it.

Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Willie (Doug E. Doug) is a black man living on welfare who doesn't see the need for a job because he'll just be a slave to the white man. Tom (Mario Joyner) is an actor trying to make it big, although he doesn't have the talent to do so. His biggest role to date was almost getting a part in the movie Rain Man. Fernando (Nestor Serrano) is a Puerto Rican who pretends to be Italian so that he can get all the women he wants. Johnny (John Leguizamo) is the youngest of the group and he's also a virgin. These seem like four typical people but they are best friends who decide to spend Friday night in Manhattan.

The four friends leave the Bronx heading for Manhattan in hopes of finding some women and wild parties but their night starts off on the wrong track when they wind up at the wrong party and are thrown out on the streets. After wrecking their car, they hit the subway and head to the city where they try to encounter more women and more parties yet nothing seems to be going right. Weighting down the situation is that all four men are having various sorts of problems and when no one else is around the best thing to do is take it out on your friends, which just leads to more problems and more fights.

Hangin' With the Homeboys was released back in 1991 but died a quick death at the box office. This was probably due to the other urban film that year, Boyz N the Hood being a big success so that left this title out in the cold but over the past few years the film has gained a cult following. I wasn't expecting too much out of the film but after viewing it I must admit to now being in that cult group. It's wonderful whenever you enter a film with low expectation but leave it finding a terrific little gem that will hopefully get new fans thanks to this DVD release.

The film was written and directed by Joseph B. Vasquez and his screenplay is something very unique because there are several messages in the film yet he never bashes he viewer over the head with them. Each of the four characters are given their own problems and the film pushes them towards an answer yet the movie doesn't rely on that message and the film ends abruptly with nothing really solved. The biggest highlight of the screenplay is the wonderful dialogue that easily rivals the stuff written by Tarantino. The dialogue brings the four characters to life and while there isn't anything too original here, the dialogue is so refreshing that it's like hearing this stuff for the first time.

All of the dialogue is so natural that it seems this is a documentary rather than an actual film. All the scenes in the movie seem so fresh and real that it seems the actors are improvising rather than speaking from a script. The perfect example of this is a wonderful scene where three of the friends are bashing another member for never having sex. The way the dialogue is given is something that will remind any male viewer of conversations they had with their own friends. Another wonderful section is some fake "ghetto fights", which are staged by the characters to scare the preppy white people that surrounds them in the world.

Bringing this dialogue to life are four wonderful performances and it's no shock that all four actors have gone on to make names for themselves. Doug E. Doug steals the show as the welfare black man refusing to work for the white man who keeps trying to put him down. Everything from his fast talking to his wacky facial expressions just helps bring his character to life. John Leguizamo also turns in wonderful work as the depressed virgin who's always taking heat from his friends. Joyner and Serrano also do nice work in the film.

Hangin' With the Homeboys certainly deserves its cult following and I'm sure it'll get even bigger over the years. I'm sure twenty years from now people will look back on this film the same way they do Diner today. Director/writer Vasquez only made four films before his untimely death and that's a shame because of the wonderful dialogue he brought to his films. This is certainly the film he'll be remembered for and it's a film any male should be able to relate to. We've all had those guys night out and this film brings some of those highlights to life.

I starting watching this on Comedy Central and assumed "oh, a film about some guys partying in the Bronx...i'll give it a whirl." I was not expecting a curiously sincere, although somewhat slap-stick, film about class differences in NYC.

The four characters represent the spectrum of what any struggling urban area would produce: a loaner who blames his race on his inability to thrive in society, an actor who tries but eventually fails to make his movie dreams a reality, a gigolo who denies his often maligned heritage in order to court women, and a genuinely earnest stock-boy who secretly desires to do what few in his position are able to: leave the monotony of dead-end beginnings and go to college and experience the world.

After each character is introduced, the film follows the journey of the men from areas of the Bronx (where beer bottles are thrown at the car after a protective father hears one of the men whistling at his daughter) to Midtown Manhattan, where the group partake in some harmless pre-Giuliani peep-show fun.

I rarely comment on films, but I thoroughly enjoyed this 'Hunt's Point Odyssey'. Some of the messages the film tries to convey are done so unrealistically, however, some of the scenes are moving and authentic (an interrogation scene involving a racist Italian subway cop who discredits the gigolo's purported identity by reacquainting him with his given Hispanic name on a driver's license, in an attempt to further emblaze immovable class lines).

Many cities contain areas with steep social and economic gradations, but none compare to NYC. It was entertaining to watch the small victories and defeats of each of these men who are somewhat pathetic, but all share common goal of enjoying themselves. Their journey is a painful reminder of the difficulty inherent in trying to escape the oft-referred realizations of each of their 'seemingly inescapable and meager' respective destinies.

Most (if not all) of the main actors grew up in NYC, and I think that helps to add a sense of realism to their performance.

If you have an open mind and don't mind the unmistakable sound of early 90s rap soundtracks, get this film. Perhaps you will enjoy it as much as I did.