Le mal par le mal

When I was a kid, I used to watch BAND OF THE HAND all the time because it always came on HBO. I know it's a cheesie movie, but there's something about it that makes it cool. Is it the fact that Bob Dylan sings the theme song? Is it future star Laurence Fishburne in an embarrassing pre-fame role as a drug lord? Or is it the cool shootout's on the playground and the drug factory? Whatever the case, it's a neat nostalgic piece from the Reagan-era anti-drug Zeitgeist, and it just equals cool.

For my brother, "Billy Jack" was the film that was low budget, cheezy and darn good when it came to telling a story you really WANTED to hear. For me, it was "Band of the Hand."

Though I was in the ultimate conservative environment (1st school after Marine Boot Camp), I couldn't help but love the melding of "the establishment" and a bunch of kids who were definitely from the "wrong side of the tracks." Most important, it let someone show some teens that they could make a difference, even if the method might have been a bit much.

One more thing: Lauran Holly may have been "eye candy" for the movie but she DID have a powerful albeit limited role, and that impression has positively affected my opinion of her in later roles. James Remar (you ladies know him from Sex and the City) did a good psycho role as well.

Trashy, brainless, and oh-so-80s action melodrama stars Stephen Lang ("Avatar", "Don't Breathe") as Joe, an American Indian & Vietnam veteran who runs a program to reform troubled youth. Five punks - Ruben (Michael Carmine), J.L. (John Cameron Mitchell), Carlos (Danny Quinn), Moss (Leon), and Dorcey (Al Shannon) - are dragged out to the Everglades and deposited there, where Joe teaches them survival instincts and teamwork. Once back in Miami, the gang is *somewhat* more mature, and they go up against vicious drug runners including Cream (Laurence Fishburne) and Nestor (James Remar).

To be honest, "Band of the Hand" is a hard slog for a while, since it's hard to give a damn about our protagonists for an extended amount of time. (This IS an overlong movie.) But things improve as "Band of the Hand" progresses, and debuting feature director Paul Michael "Starsky" Glaser gives this production a certain amusing amount of 80s excess. It bears the mark of its executive producer, 'Miami Vice' creator Michael Mann. It's noisy, it's silly, it's violent in a sometimes cartoonish way, and it's got a hip soundtrack. The centerpiece of said soundtrack is a priceless, catchy rock ditty written and sung by Bob Dylan, with Tom Petty's band The Heartbreakers backing him up.

The acting suits the material. Top billed Lang is fine in a low key portrayal. The young cast is lively, with a cute Lauren Holly playing Carlos' love interest. Remar is okay as our primary villain, and other familiar character actors like Paul Calderon, Bill Smitrovich, Michael Gregory, and an unbilled Martin Ferrero all turn up as well.

This is a decent, fun movie overall, even if the script ain't so hot. As was said before, it goes on a bit too long, but for the most part, it's *not* boring.

Seven out of 10.

I remember when this movie came out. Seeing the music video on MTV of Bob Dylan singing away about the street life made me incredibly excited. I pictured a movie that would be like THE WARRIORS -- all gang fights, sexy chicks, and endless pounding rock music.

Years later, I rented the film, and it was really like that -- for about two minutes during the opening credits. After that it becomes almost a Saturday Night Live sketch of a comedy, showing Eighties teens with silly hair dragging their sorry behinds through the swamp whining like toddlers while a stereotypical Indian brave keeps grunting stuff like "Teamwork!" and "Survive!" A CLOCKWORK ORANGE this ain't, folks. It's more like ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, mixed with THE BREAKFAST CLUB, mixed with LORD OF THE FLIES.

The film makers apparently couldn't decide what they were going for. The teen angst clashes with the gun battles, and the adult level crimes (including a creepy Harvey Weinstein style rape) just get shrugged off in a hail of bullets. The Indian is supposed to be the hero they all look up to, but he's never more than a cardboard cutout of stoic Injun virtue. He's really Injun Joe from TOM SAWYER, only played as a good guy.

They even work a spin on the famous scene of Tom getting all his old buddies to take turns painting the fence!

I found this movie in a video store shelf when I was 14. At the time, this movie was phenomenal. This movie gives you a very nostalgic feel of what the 1980's would be like in Miami. I am a very big 80's buff so this was a definite for my collection. I am very pleased to see they released it on DVD. What really makes this movie neat is that at the time, almost all of the actors were unknown, with the exception of James Remar. This movie is based upon the many programs that were employed to straighten up troubled minors and make them realize the value of life. Unfortunately, many of those programs were cut because of mismanagement, lack of funding, or were bogus boot camps run by abusive individuals. I do believe with the right people, a program like this can work, and that is what this movie portrays. Although this plot is fictional, it still leaves you with that feeling of "Wouldn't it be great if this actually worked". This movie was one of the first '80's films I can recall to touch racism, drug trafficking, assault weapons, gang warfare, and the effect it had on the youth at the time and put a positive spin on the outcome. One more thing, Bob Dylan and the Heartbreaker's (from Tom Petty) recorded a song for this movie specifically that cannot be found anywhere else. It is called "Hell Time" and it is pretty awesome. The rest of the soundtrack could use some work as they did not include Mr. Mister or Prince. If you enjoyed the Miami Vice series or if your a big action packed '80's buff, I highly recommend this movie whether you rent it once or add it to your collection as I did.