FIRST SERVING: THE CHEESE
CAST AND CREW
Keanu Reeves as Derek: wealthy high school quarterback; gang leader
Lori Laughlin as Christie: working class girl; Derek’s girlfriend and co-worker to Victor
Kiefer Sutherland as Victor: working class boy; co-worker to Christie.
Billy Zane as Les: gang member
Darren Dalton as Scottie: gang member
Gary Riley as Barnwell: gang member
PLOT A.KA. WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO WATCH IT; I DID FOR YOU
Sickened by drug dealers peddling “dust” to underclassmen at Santa Lucia High School, Derek forms The Brotherhood of Justice to combat the ills of society after finding “dust” in his younger brothers room. The film never identifies what “dust” is but if I had to take a stab at it I would say PCP a.k.a. angel dust. The Brotherhood of Justice is a gang whose members are six football players and fellow teammates of Derek’s that agree with his view that the campus and its students should be secretly watched and then punished for assumed crimes. Barnwell is known as “The Brains” and investigates the activities of suspicious looking students. Their punishments are actually serious crimes including direct and indirect intimidation, stabbing and arson which are investigated by police in a side storyline.
They do not have a “sign” or “colors” like most gangs but instead they scrawl messages on walls, blackboards, etc. proclaiming themselves as vigilantes. They do however, have a secret lair as all classic bad guys do. THE GANGS HIDEOUT IS A FUCKING CAROUSEL! WTF How gangster is that? There are numerous scenes of their meetings at a rink-a-dink, abandoned, local level amusement park carousel. They are particularly prejudiced towards Mexicans except for Scottie who eventually leaves the gang over this difference.
The Brotherhood of Justice starts out by doing “good” but then soon decide to gang up and hurt enemies and non-criminals that commit minor, personal offenses. At the climax, Derek, jealous of the friendship that Victor, a non-gang member, shares with his girlfriend, Christie, equips Victor’s vehicle with a bomb. With the help of Scottie and Christie, Derek becomes conscious of his actions and returns to Victor’s car to remove the bomb just in time to prevent Victor’s death. Derek then surrenders to the police. The end credit sequence consists of a montage of grainy, black and white stills of each gang member being put into the back of a squad car while music reminiscent of the theme to Law and Order plays throughout.
FUN FACTS
Lori Laughlin (Christie) is better known for playing uncle Jesse’s girlfriend/wife on the hit TV show, Full House.
Darren Dalton (Scottie) was in the TV SHOW Ferris Bueller, (shocked? I was) with Jennifer Aniston in 1990.
Gary Riley and Keifer Sutherland filmed Stand By Me the same year as this movie (shocked? I was).
HOW HOT IS THE BACON (DEGREES FROM KEVIN, THAT IS): 4th Degree Burn
Gary Riley and Kevin Bacon filmed Planes, Trains & Automobiles together in 1987, both had bit parts as thieves of sorts. Riley was the burglar at the cheap motel and Kevin is the guy who stole Steve Martin’s taxi.
Perla Walter (a side character, Maria) and Kevin Bacon filmed The Big picture together in 1989. Walter played a bit part as simply Housekeeper and Bacon played Nick Chapman.
Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon filmed A Few Good Men together in 1992. Sutherland played Lt. Jonathan Kendrick and Bacon played Capt. Jack Ross.
Joe Spano (a side character, Bob Grootemat) and Kevin Bacon filmed Apollo 13 together in 1995. Spano portrayed the Director of NASA and Bacon portrayed astronaut, Jack Swigert.
SECOND SERVING: THE DEEPNESS
According to www.wikipedia.com, this film, although laughable, was actually based on real events from a Fort Worth, Texas high school in 1984. This was back when Fort Worth was growing from a smaller community to a huge metropolitan area.
The first link below is from the Houston Chronicle online archives and speaks of the indictments. The second link below is from the Galveston Daily News and archived at www.newspaperarchive.com and gives a brief report on the results of their sentences.
http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=112773834
All other information courtesy of www.imdb.com and www.theoracleofbacon.com.
I am Babs Johnson 