Out of Bounds centers on 18 year old Iowa farm boy Daryl Cage (Anthony Michael Hall) who is sent to LA to live with his older brother as his parents' farm is struggling. At the airport he grabs the wrong bag from the carousel and this one has several kilos of pure heroin. They are followed and whilst out, Daryl returns to find his brother and sister in law shot and he shoots a drug dealer disguised as a repair man. Giving himself up to the police becomes impossible as those in on the drug deal are corrupt cops and DEA officers. He looks up a cute blond New Wave girl Dizz (Jenny Wright) that he met on the plane who lives in a funky apartment near Venice Beach. The movie is about how a farm kid barely shaving adapts to the hostile adult world of the LA underground and finds a way to get out from under the huge threats he faces.
This movie is a mixed bag. By now 17, this is Hall's first solo lead role and the first serious more adult/macho like drama role versus the string of mid teen geek/nerd comedy roles that made him famous (16 Candles, Breakfast Club and Weird Science). He does a decent job as a wannabe roguish character. Jeff Kober as the corrupt DEA agent is a real standout and Wright as Daryl's new friend and protector is awesome. The movie is shot in the sketchy parts of West Hollywood with various scenes shot in legitimate actual popular New Wave nightclubs with cameos from then cutting edge bands/singers like Souxie and the Banshees and Tommy Keene!
Whilst the plot is intense and action filled, the script has a number of holes and credibility issues like: how an 18 year old naive farm boy is suddenly so expert with a handgun, why he didn't just go back home to Iowa and how he's able to successfully outsmart and dodge experienced and violent bent cops. That said, it was a fun movie to watch if only to see Hall break free from his teen geek stereotype.
This movie is a mixed bag. By now 17, this is Hall's first solo lead role and the first serious more adult/macho like drama role versus the string of mid teen geek/nerd comedy roles that made him famous (16 Candles, Breakfast Club and Weird Science). He does a decent job as a wannabe roguish character. Jeff Kober as the corrupt DEA agent is a real standout and Wright as Daryl's new friend and protector is awesome. The movie is shot in the sketchy parts of West Hollywood with various scenes shot in legitimate actual popular New Wave nightclubs with cameos from then cutting edge bands/singers like Souxie and the Banshees and Tommy Keene!
Whilst the plot is intense and action filled, the script has a number of holes and credibility issues like: how an 18 year old naive farm boy is suddenly so expert with a handgun, why he didn't just go back home to Iowa and how he's able to successfully outsmart and dodge experienced and violent bent cops. That said, it was a fun movie to watch if only to see Hall break free from his teen geek stereotype.