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Absolutely the worst movie.

A Masterpiece!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This movie-length after school special with swear words beeped out was probably groundbreaking in 1982, but the expected moment of high courtroom drama and its "message" is delivered with all the ham-fisted finesse that must have seemed impressive to rural folks during a time when television consisted of three stations (four if you count PBS). As if to drive the point home that this is the 1980s, there is a montage set to rock music, ending in fake blood and a hospital stay. Watch the drunk driving scene closely, the driver is obviously a middle-aged stunt driver. In contrast to some of the superlatives thrown in Sheen's direction by other reviewers, I thought his performance in general was forced, such as when he went nuts over the spilled milk or started shouting in the courthouse; it is possible for Sheen to overact, and for low TV production values to be confined to only a few takes instead of the multiple ones that might have guaranteed a better portrayal of a struggling blue-collar worker who has been out of work for six months. So back to the "message", it's clear that incarceration exacerbates the issues that cause a man to be imprisoned in the first place, but it was a few weeks in the slammer, not a multi-year stretch in a federal prison. He could have read books or drew pictures to kill the time, so I'm calling BS on the message as it was portrayed. One last thing, that Ed Lauter was a solid character actor who nicely filled out any film he appeared in.

We came across this on Netflix and finally watched it. It's worth a watch for the laughs. Martin Sheen is over the top with his acting, of course. Emilio tried to be a tough guy but this was no Mighty Ducks. In the drunken driving scene (with the hood up), he amazingly drives on the sidewalk and makes it back to the street until he hits a police car at a donut shop. Warden Caruso has a humorous soft spot for Danny. He just wants this kid out of his jail and there is nothing he can do. That is except carry him out of solitary confinement when the guards refuse to call him at home at Danny's request. Danny Boy is losing his mind after weeks in his own cell. If only he hadn't talked to the man hitting on him in his own holding cell through the bars. Now his life has turned into a month long nightmare.

Falling right in line with the others that have reviewed this TV-movie, I would agree that it contained fine performances by M. Sheen, and most of the principles. The script was also decent- not great but decent.My biggest complaint is with the way Danny's character was portrayed. I get it- a good kid/bad kid. It's just that Emelio Estivez didn't sell me that he was either a bad kid nor a damaged kid from the jail time. Eyes rolling over his "crime scene" and his final scene. I don't blame the actor- I blame the director; either way, he seemed like a caricature.Still, a modest recommendation.

This tale of a juvenile's nightmare voyage through delinquency and the harsh penal system is a well acted and at times moving story.Emilio Estevez as the angry young man Danny is excellent, in an early role which showed his promise and acting ability. He is indeed his father's son. His story is set against a backdrop of hopelessness and unemployment and his father's emasculation as the wage earner and hunter gatherer. Martin Sheen's character, Frank, is seeking employment having been laid off as foreman in the factory he's spent his adult career in. His frustration at having to almost beg for work, and fear of welfare, whilst his wife earns a wage and keeps the house is palpable and contributes to the rocky relationship with his volatile son. In these early scenes we see Danny cares for his family greatly, that he respects his father but feels embarassed for him.When Danny drunkenly wrecks a car his Frank lets him stew in the cells for a night to teach him a lesson. After he beats a dirty old lech in self defense he is remanded in the youth cells and is tragically sucked into the system, a system which fails him. His character's brutalisation and growing desperation are well conveyed by Emilio and are thrown into contrast later on when we see his father's and the family's fortunes improving with Frank getting a good new job out of state.When Danny is finally released we see a different young man. The closing scenes are poignant as Danny silently, hauntingly, watches his father (offscreen) laugh and play with his younger children. We suspect young Danny longs for those innocent days of youth and unquestioning love. Carefree days. Simple days. Happy days.