Review of Band of the Hand

1986 wasn't just responsible for the much stylish but less substance hit, Miami Vice. As a bonus, this cheesy delight, which had a one week release in Adelaide with only a one nightly session, hit the screens, then suddenly disappeared. It's poster and tagline were fascinating, and still today, looking back on this film, is one of the reasons, 86 was a great year for cheesy movies. BOTH is a good movie, very well directed, by Starsky and Hutch's, Paul Michael Glaser, who went onto to make on to make that unique Arnie pic, The Running Man. The premise is great, and in reality, it's something that actually should be operating with re offenders. Five juvies are taken out of jail, two of different races, going off at each other like savages, another one, a drug dealer who likes to dress good, caught in a sting operation, his girlfriend (a young unknown Lauren Holly) getting away, but coming back into the picture later. The other two are hard cases, unstable you might say, the youngest, only a kid, from an abusive childhood, who shot his old man. These five are taken out into the croc infested waters of the everglades, and dumped there, not the most appropriate place. They're met by a mentor, Joe (an always reliable acting talent, Stephen Lang) who teaches them the basics, how to survive and fend for themselves. They overcome many obstacles, the racist hating two, finally coming to a truce. This is the first half of the movie, that's slightly interrupted by the chief baddie, James Remar as a vicious drug lord Nestor, who's doing Nikki (Holly) and keeps real skeletons as trophies in his closets. He ever so nicely, orders Holly to go upstairs and take her clothes off, where back then, she was pretty hot looking. To the second, part of the film. Our juvie five, having passed the survival test, set up house, in Miami, giving a whole new revamp and colourful paint over. But remember they're here to do a job, which later becomes personal, but the band come through. I like movies with different premises, which is why I very much liked this. Mister Misters's 86 hit, Broken Wings, appears, but somehow doesn't work for a scene involving a squabble between Holly and Mr Slick dressed, juvie, boyfriend. It just didn't feel appropriate. But you can't fault the originality of the movie, where the strong performances of Remar and Lang, keep the film in check. This is one eighties flick, you must check out + a scene of Bikini clad Holly sunbathing on Nestor's boat, where he childs her on covering herself when black guys are around.