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| ‘Hangin’ With the Homeboys’ By Rita Kempley Washington Post Staff Writer September 27, 1991 | ||
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On a Friday in August, four young men (two black and two Puerto Rican) team up for a typical night of cruising, party-crashing and drinking too much. Of course, they get more than they bargained for when their search for excitement turns into a night of self-discovery for the variously conflicted, variously likable homeboys. Though an active, rap-scored picture, it's also as talky and character-dependent in its way as, say, "My Dinner With Andre." Except for the nerd of the foursome, Johnny (John Leguizamo), the homeboys are argumentative motor mouths.
Johnny, a morose supermarket clerk, toys with the idea of applying for a college scholarship, but he's afraid to take a chance on himself. Willie (Doug E. Doug) is his closest friend, a charming moocher who blames all his troubles on racism. "You're doing this 'cause I'm black, right?" he thickheadedly tells the black bureaucrat who threatens to stop his welfare benefits. Vinny (Nestor Serrano), the neighborhood Casanova, is equally allergic to work, but lives off an army of witless girlfriends. Then there's Tom (Mario Joyner), a magazine telemarketer who is struggling to make it as an actor.
Within the group, the alliances shift as frequently as the Redskins' defensive line, and guys being guys, they show each other how much they care by saying mean things to one another. But when one of them's really hurting, the others come around in their own rowdy, funny and frequently touching fashion. Of course, friendships can continue only as long as the parties have something in common, and before morning comes, two of the four will have found new directions. Still, this is a night to remember, a night when they either accepted or rejected the limitations of their lives.
"Hangin' With the Homeboys" is a modest, street-based production, distinguished by Vasquez's feel for the subject and the diverse strengths of the ensemble cast, which also includes Kimberly Russell, Mary Ward and Christine Claravall, all of them appropriately enigmatic. In contrast to the homeboys, the homegirls seem to have floated in from another world -- one of Vasquez's many apt choices in this impressive little film. He's done his job, widened our focus to make the South Bronx a universal neighborhood.
"Hangin' With the Homeboys" is rated R for language.
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