Squeeze

The movie Squeeze was shot in Dorchester and is loosely based on stories from one of the people at the Dorchester Youth Collaborative. I watched this movie back in '98, two years after it came out and liked it back then, and wanted to rewatch it.

The basic plot is three youths in danger of becoming street thugs, try to find a way out of trouble by getting jobs at the Youth Center. There is a gang of hoodlums causing trouble with them, and after a confrontation with them which led to a robbery, the three kids turn to a rival gang leader for protection and a way to make money. Will they turn their lives around, or become statistics of life on the streets...

For a low budget indie, I'd recommend this as possibly a "poor mans" Boyz N'the Hood. Not to say Boyz was the original movie about life in the hood, but there are similarities between the two.

The acting was pretty good, all things considered. The three leads were just students from DYC and did a good job in their roles. Wasn't blow away, but it could also be a lot worse.

I really like watching and recognizing all the spots around Dorchester and things like that. If you are from Boston and like the Departed for the location recognition, if you are from Dorchester/Fields Corner area, it is pretty cool seeing all of those areas in a movie too.

There are a couple of over the top drug den scenes, and the thugs pulling scare tactics to the kids that come off pretty cheesey. (Instead of taunting the kids who robbed you by singing songs in their face to scare them, why wouldnt they pull up and take care of business right away?)

The movie is shot pretty nicely, with a gritty urban feel they were going for. As cheesey as wipes and transition shots are in movies like Star Wars, they worked really well and were well planned in this movie.

There is some pretty good gun play in it, although it isn't the main focus of the movie. Some of the fist fights could have benefitted from some Foley work so when people are getting stomped or punched, you get the impact of the blow instead of feet ruffling around on the floor.

Overall I'd give it 3 and 1/2 buttholes as far as me being entertained by the movie, and caring about what is going on. If you are from the area, you may have more of a reason to check it out, but if you want the real deal, check out Cuba, Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, and Laurence Fishburne in Boyz N' the Hood.