Bad Boys

After "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Sean Penn took part in more serious roles, such as this gritty look at urban Chicago street gangs.

One gang has Mick O'Brien (Penn) in the center and the other has Mick's nemesis Paco Moreno (Esai Morales) up front. They already have enough reasons to hate each other, but now comes a reason for enough hate, where it's do or die.

When a shootout takes place on the streets, Mick's best friend Carl (Alan Ruck) is shot dead. While trying to race the police, Mick accidentally runs over Paco's younger brother, killing him. Having committed vehicular manslaughter, Mick is sent to a juvenile prison full of thieves, murderers and drug dealers while Paco plans to avenge his brother's death.

As Mick enters the prison walls, he makes new friends and enemies. He is bunked with Barry Horowitz (Eric Gurry), who is responsible for an explosion that killed three people. When Mick gets counted, he meets the two barn bosses, Viking Lofgren (Clancy Brown) and Warren "Tweety" Jerome (Robert Lee Rush), who tease the other prisoners. They demonstrate their brutality by killing the other new kid in the prison, and now, Mick himself is a target, but Mick soon shows his brutality by beating up Viking and Tweety with a bag full of unopened cold drink cans, as he is sent to solitary confinement for the rest of the night. The following morning, Mick is declared the new barn boss of the prison.

Meanwhile, Paco crosses paths with Mick's girlfriend J.C. (Ally Sheedy) and attempts to rape her, but Paco is arrested and sent to the same prison where Mick is. Claiming that now is the perfect time for revenge, Paco ends up facing Viking over who is going to take him down first.

Who will get the chance to take down Mick? Will Paco get transferred to another prison? Will Mick survive?