The Boys Next Door

In my last entry, I took a look back at a comedic Charlie Sheen turn. Today, however, things are going to get dark. Here's Sheen in one of his earliest roles, 1985's The Boys Next Door.

Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield star as Bo and Roy, two teenage outcasts filled with rage. When Roy receives $200 as a graduation present, the two decide to leave their small town and head to L.A. Enroute, they rob a gas station and beat up the attendant with a crow bar. Once in L.A., Roy hits an elderly woman on the head with a beer bottle. Three women witness this and Roy mows them down with his car. The two decide that this is their day, no rules. Bo refers to it as "going caveman." The two go on a killing spree, making them feel like gods.

With new found confidence, Bo hooks up with an older woman named Angie, Patti D'Aarbanville, which drives Roy into a fit of rage. He ends up killing Angie while she is having sex with Bo. With Angie dead and the police on their trail, Bo must decide if he's going to follow Roy into madness or turn himself in.

Director Penelope Spheeris had a real understanding of the dark side of teen angst. If you only know her work from hit movies like Wayne's World, you should really check out her earlier films. A triple feature of this, Suburbia, and Dudes (which I covered in an earlier blog) really show off the dark side she had before going more mainstream. A very talented lady indeed.

Sheen and Caulfield are both very effective in their roles. Caulfield is downright creepy in some scenes. And Sheen plays conflicted really well. It would be interesting to see if he could still do something this heavy. And even though the movie doesn't come out and say it, I got the impression that these two guys were in love with another. They've only had eachothers friendship their entire lives, and when Sheen gets together with D'arbanville, it almost feels like Caulfield has lost the love of his life. This film really showed that both were more than just a couple of teen heartthrobs.

The Boys Next Door is available on dvd.