Philip Kaufman directs Ken Wahl, John Friedrich and Karen Allen in this teen drama about a Bronx high school gang coming of age in 1963. 

Part raunchy comedy, part social drama, part expressionist action movie, all in though this is a hidden gem. The acting is ropey and the dialogue (based on gritty crime writer Richard Price’s first novel) needs a million trigger warning for any PC snowflake commie libtards out there. At its best though this takes the colour of The Warriors, the warmth of A Bronx Tale, the sexy larks of an American Pie film and the fragile, naive yet pure sense of nostalgic camaraderie of Stand By Me and mixes them messily but enthusiastically. It is a film of constant conflict and emotions – a football game can turn into smokefilled war zone where fathers swing youths around as weapons or a skit involving groping strangers in the street can evolve into quite a sweet glimpse of instant attraction and stumbling courtship. The Wanderers is a broad, harsh experience that consistently entertains and leaves you with a smile on your face. Even if you are hearing Dion’s contemporaneous hit for the fifth overkill time by the end credits.

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