A Problem Picture about problem teenagers at an exclusive "behavioral modification" facility. Adam Horovitz, one of the musical Beastie Boys, looks well and moves well as the principal problem. Smirks well, that is, and swaggers well, something like a young Richard Gere -- young enough, in fact, that all of that face-pulling and all of that posturing seem legitimately and tolerably in character. But the movie, despite its mirroring demeanor of toughness and honesty, keeps stepping in soggy spots of moralism and sentimentalism, and extricating itself only with unseemly slurping noises. There's a dramatically effective, albeit dramatically elementary and uncomplicated, moment, when the sympathetic counselor (Donald Sutherland) is found out to have his own troubles at home, and to leave his professional compassion behind at the office. This moment comes to seem even more precious once the movie crosses the Mexican border, shifts gears into Expressionism, and attempts to show us just how dramatic a drama can be. Directed by Hugh Hudson. (1989) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.