The movie portrays Chicano youth gangs in SoCal though what catches the eye is Robby Benson as Emilio Mendez. The film isn’t bad but seeing him in darkened makeup and with a faux Latino accent is a little unsettling. (Loved him in “Ice Castles”, however!)
According to TCM’s synopsis of “Walk Proud”:
Critics of Walk Proud have pointed to its Latin-American themes as essentially window dressing on just another vehicle for Benson, done up with fake tan and dark contacts for the role... There was no small amount of perception amongst the Latin-American community that Walk Proud was more of the same, only with a quinceneara sequence. Benson also wrote and sang the number that plays over the closing credits.Below is the very beginning of Walk Proud; check out TCM next Tuesday at 10pm if you want to see the whole movie.
While the project gave opportunities to several of the industry's stalwart Latin-American character players like (Henry) Darrow, (Pepe) Serna, (Domingo) Ambriz and (Trinidad) Silva, the latter's casting did more harm then help to the film's credibility. Serna was 35 at the time of the film's release, Ambriz 31, and Silva 29; as a result, it came as if these high school hardcases got held back a grade one time too many.
Online Sources- Turner Classic Movies, YouTube, Wikipedia
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