[6]

Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer star as two high school best friends experiencing a rough transition into adulthood. While Sheffer’s character is falling in love and leaving behind his delinquent ways, Estevez continues down the darker path, dabbling in drugs and antagonizing thugs and police. Estevez adapted the screenplay from S.E. Hinton’s (The Outsiders) novel. The character arcs aren’t as well defined or pronounced as I’d like. The bromance between Estevez and Sheffer’s characters is strong, but Estevez’s decision to ‘go bad’ is overwrought within the context of the movie, and underwhelming when you compare his actions to what young people are like today — he’s just not bad enough, really. And that Sheffer’s character would ‘go good’ simply by falling in love with a young lady is demeaning to his character and insipid for viewers. Morgan Freeman makes the most of his supporting player mentor character, and you gotta love the ’80s clothing and hair. And how hot Craig Sheffer is.