Hangin' with the Homeboys is a 1991

1991 in film

The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...

 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 coming-of-age comedy-drama

Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 directed by Joseph Vasquez

Joseph Vasquez

Joseph B. "Joe" Vasquez was an American independent filmmaker.Vasquez was born in the South Bronx, the son of two heroin addicts...

. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 in 1991. It was released by New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...

.

Synopsis

The film revolves around four friends, all young men going nowhere with their lives. Tom and Johnny have dead-end jobs (one works as a telemarketer and aspires to be an actor, the other is a supermarket clerk), while Willie and Fernando (who prefers the name "Vinny") are unemployed and use people to get what they want. They go for a "guys' night" out on the town from the Bronx to Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, and fall victim to various disasters, most of which they bring on themselves. During their "night out", their relationships with one another become strained as the various situations lead to conflict between them, and by the end of the movie they have all separated.

Main characters

• Tom (Mario Joyner
  Mario Joyner
  Mario Joyner is an American stand-up comedian best known as the host of MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour from 1988–1992....
  
  ) is an aspiring actor who works as a telemarketer while waiting for his big break. His girlfriend cancels their date for the night, so he goes out with his friends, and later finds out she is out with another man. At the end of the movie, he reveals that he is weary of his friends and their destructive and derisive behavior between themselves. He is especially angry at Willie and Vinny, who manipulate him into paying for them because they are unemployed, but constantly criticize and make fun of him.
• Willie (Doug E. Doug
  Doug E. Doug
  Douglas Bourne, better known as Doug E. Doug is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and film director. He started his career at age 17 as a stand-up comedian...
  
  ) is an angry unemployed bum who embraces the Black Power
  Black Power
  Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
  
   movement, but is genuinely devoted to his best friend Johnny. He has a tenuous friendship with Vinny and a passing friendship with Tom (which disintegrates when Tom calls him on his mooching). He is hypocritical, calling Tom a failure even though he is comparable to a bum, and describing a black female he encounters towards the end of the film as an Uncle Tom
  Uncle Tom
  Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
  
   because she "dresses white", but he is not a member of any political organization and does not even vote.
• Fernando (aka Vinny) (Nestor Serrano
  Nestor Serrano
  Nestor Serrano is an American film and television actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law.Serrano began his acting career in off-Broadway plays in the late 1970s. His first film was the 1986 Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit...
  
  ) is a philandering Puerto Rican who is ashamed of his heritage and pretends to be Italian
  Italian people
  The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
  
  , much to Johnny's horror. He later has to confront this fact when a police officer asks him about his nationality. The oldest of the four, he is cynical and verbally abusive to virtually everyone. He is a sex-hound who tries to talk to every pretty girl he sees. He is both amused at and contemptuous of Johnny's naivete and has a strained interaction with him because he sees him as a sad individual who would depress everybody in the gang, especially him. Vinny is unemployed, but is supported by the generosity of his many girlfriends. Hypocritically, he openly derides Willie's lack of employment.
• Johnny (John Leguizamo
  John Leguizamo
  Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
  
  ) is the youngest of the group, who is idealistic and naive. Also Puerto Rican, Johnny is very proud of his heritage, unlike Vinny. He works at a grocery store, but has an opportunity for a scholarship. Romantically naive and having a rather chivalrous ideal towards love, he is infuriated to find Vinny dancing suggestively with Daria, the girl he has a secret crush on. The last straw comes when Vinny selfishly demands an apology for "ruining his night". Instead, Johnny punches him on the jaw and knocks him unconscious. At the end of the movie, the disastrous night makes him decide to go for the scholarship and start a new chapter in his life, away from his "friends".

Soundtrack

1. "The Power (Homeboys Mix)" - Snap
   Snap
   -Computing:* ITK-SNAP, a medical imaging software application* Snap * SNAP , a symbolic circuit simulator* Snap Server, a computer storage device* Subnetwork Access Protocol , capable of binding to the Logical Link Control...
   
   
2. "Rock Bottom" - 2 in a Room
3. "Dance All Night (House Mix)" - Poison Clan (The Baby 2 Live Crew)
4. "Swingin'" - Prince Akeem
5. "Ticket to Heaven" - The Knowledge (Feat. Kenny Bobien)
6. "Do You Believe" - Beat Goes Bang
7. "Pretty Girls" - Stevie B
   Stevie B
   Stevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s...
   
   
8. "Games" - Trinere
9. "We Want Some Pussy" - 2 Live Crew
   2 Live Crew
   2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
   
   
10. "Vacate the Premises" - The 2awk
11. "What Is Black" - Billy Box
12. "Hangin' With the Homeboys and Dr. Feelgood" - 2 Live Crew and Triple XXX