For some reason, I always thought this movie took place in New York, but seeing it recently, and seeing the scene where the boys ride around Daley Plaza, I realized it takes place in Chicago. Pretty sad considering I grew up just north of Chicago and a few famous landmarks are visibly present within a number of scenes.
Anyway, Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) has a problem besides his really bad mushroomed shaped harido. Having just transferred from a private to public school, Clifford has run afoul of a gang of toughs, led by Moody (Matt Dillon) whose main source of income is extorting money from kids under the premise of protection from another kid, Ricky Linderman (Alec Baldwin). See, legend has it that Ricky, a boy larger than most, has done all kinds of things from killing a kid, raping a teacher, to shooting a cop. Moody and his gang claim to provide protection from Ricky, but, really, they are only providing protection against themselves, because not paying Moody would result in a beating from Moody or any of his cronies. Clifford angers Moody and his goons by refusing to pay, which results in all kinds of harassment.
Clifford, seeing that even the bullies are afraid of Ricky, approaches Ricky to try and make a deal to get him to be his bodyguard. Ricky agrees initially, but backs out as Clifford tries to learn more about Ricky, about his past and why he's so feared. I've noticed some reviewers have tried to infer some sort of burgeoning homoerotic relationship between these two characters, but I really didn't see it. It's sad that two male characters in a movie can't develop a close friendship without some people labeling it as something other than what it is...I actually found that notion a little offensive and silly as this is a charming little movie that portrays one boy, who shut nearly shut everything out after a tragic event opening up to a friend. In the end, the boys develop a friendship, but also get more in that Clifford learns how to stand up for himself and Ricky seems to come to terms with a past event that isolated him and made him feared throughout the school.
Look for appearances by Martin Mull, Ruth Gordon, Joan Cusack, John Houseman, George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky, and Jennifer Beals. The movie is presented in full screen and wide screen formats, and looks really good. The audio is solid, but there are English subtitles if needed. One of the many things I appreciated about this movie was the use of real teenagers to portray teens on the screen. It really annoys me seeing some twenty something being passed off as a high school student as seems fairly common nowadays. Also, it seemed the entire movie was shot on location in Chicago, rather than on a soundstage, providing a bit of a gritty, realistic feel. This was a nice, subtle touch that served to make a great movie that much better. Overall, an excellent movie I would recommend to most anyone.
