Bullet Points: Band of the Hand
It was Frank Sinatra who famously said “Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again too few to mention.”
Well, I am not “Ol’ Blue Eyes”. I have amassed numerous regrets over the course of my lifetime. I won’t share them all with you here, in fact they may be too numerous to mention, but I will share my latest regret. I regret that it took me nearly 38 years to watch 1986’s Band of the Hand…
- Set It Off: Band of the Hand gets things going during the opening credits as we are introduced five Miami area ne’er do wells whose futures look bleak… We have a couple of rival gang members Moss (Leon, Streetwalkin’) and Ruben (Michael Carmine, Invasion U.S.A.) who want to kill one another… Then there’s an actual killer in the form of J.L. (John Cameron Mitchell), who killed his abusive father… There’s Dorcey (Al Shannon, C.A.T. Squad) an illiterate car thief and last but not least Carlos (Danny Quinn), a young man working as a drug dealer for drug kingpin, Nestor. We see all five young men arrested and thrown into juvenile hall, before they are transported to the Everglades and that is where our story truly begins…
- Whatcha Know Joe: After wading through the swampy waters in the middle of the Everglades with Moss and Ruben still trying to kill one another, the fivesome will soon meet the Vietnam veteran who recruited them for this special survival program, “Indian Joe” Tegra (Stephen Lang, VFW). Joe tells them that their training begins tomorrow and to get some rest before he disappears into the brush… it’s the classic “fish out of water” scenario as Carlos, Dorcey, Moss, Ruben and J.L. find themselves sleeping in the wild with no idea what their immediate future holds. In the days that follow, Dorcey will be the first to find out how dangerous the Everglades can be when he is bitten by a rattlesnake after the tries to flee the camp… with Dorcey clinging to life, it’s the first sign that a bond is forming among the delinquents.
- Wild Life: The guys have more wildlife to deal with when they hunt a wild boar. And things get even wilder when they are sent out into the swamp with only a compass and teamwork at their disposal in order to find civilization, that’s when they encounter a bear and a panther! The mission hammered home the fact that they have to learn to live or they will die… The guys do eventually make it to civilization, where they find a party, some much needed food and more importantly Joe. The celebration becomes an impromptu graduation party as Joe informs them, the program is moving to Miami.
- Welcome Back to Miami: When they get back to Miami, Carlos goes to track down his girlfriend, Nikki (Lauren Holly, Turbulence) only to find out in his absence that Nikki has been sleeping with his former boss Nestor (James Remar, The Quest)… Meanwhile, Joe gets the team a rundown house in the Little Havana section of Miami. They immediately have squatters, drug dealers and drug users in and around the house to deal with. And things are only going to get worse… Nestor is not happy his drug dealers are getting pushed around in Little Havana, so he tasks his minion, Cream (Laurence Fishburne, Death Wish II) to take care of the problem. This leads to Joe providing the team with some military training and it looks like it is going to be all out war on the streets of Miami! A war that takes a member of the team… which sets up for our delinquents turned heroes to get revenge on Nestor, just as he is about to make his biggest move yet!
Another thing I may regret after this Band of the Hand review is posted is not properly expressing in words how awesome Band of the Hand truly is. It has some great action, redemption arcs out the ying yang, vile villains and one man who did not want to give up on some youngsters who were heading down the worst paths possible. Band of the Hand is a true hidden gem.
Band of the Hand feels like the cousin of Miami Vice, for good reason too… obviously the shared location but also a shared executive producer in the form of Michael Mann. Mann’s influence is felt in every aspect of the movie and there are quite a few actors who made appearances on Miami Vice, but none more obvious than Martin Ferrero, who had an uncredited role as the hardware store clerk in Band of the Hand. Ferrero played recurring character, Izzy Moreno, during Miami Vice‘s entire five season run on NBC.
A recurring theme of my reviews is ending with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Soundtraxx: In addition to the original songs performed by Roy Orbison (and backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Band of the Hand features 80’s classics, “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince and “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a love making scene shot through glass block, then Band of the Hand is the movie for you.
- Directed By: Band of the Hand was the first feature directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Glaser would follow up Band of the Hand the following year with The Running Man.
