''The Boys Club'' is a 1996

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by John Fawcett, written by Doug Smith (story) and

Peter Wellington Peter William Wellington (born 21 August 1957) is an Australian politician. He was the independent member for Nicklin in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2017, and served as Speaker from 2015 to 2017. Wellington has held the b ...

(writer), and starring

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...

Devon Sawa Devon Edward Sawa (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian actor. Sawa began acting when he was a teenager and appeared in several films in the 1990s including ''Little Giants'', ''Casper'', '' Now and Then'', '' Wild America'', ''Idle Hands'', an ...

Dominic Zamprogna Dominic Zamprogna (, ; born April 21, 1979) is a Canadian actor and voice artist. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the television series '' Edgemont'', ''Battlestar Galactica'' and ''General Hospital''. Early life Zamprogna was born in ...

, and

Stuart Stone Stuart Stone (born Stuart Eisenstein) is a Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor as well as a producer of television, film and music. He is best known for his roles as Ronald Fisher in the 2001 cult film, ''Donnie Darko'' and Ralphie Ten ...

. It was released theatrically by

Alliance Films Alliance Films (formerly Alliance Entertainment, Alliance Communications, Alliance Atlantis Releasing Ltd, Motion Picture Distribution LP and also known as Alliance Vivafilm in Quebec and also known simply as Alliance) was a Canadian motion pictur ...

, on VHS in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Alliance Video An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by A-Pix Entertainment in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on VHS by

High Fliers Films High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on VHS by Home Cinema Group, on

Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

in the United States by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the

in 1998 by

Simitar Entertainment Simitar Entertainment, Inc. was an American media company that sold music, videos, DVDs, and computer software. The company specialized in compilation albums, special interest video, and urban media. Simitar also distributed its own label. His ...

and in 2003 by Ardustry Home Entertainment. In 2013, it was released by

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...

, and in 2017 by

FilmRise FilmRise is a New York City–based film and television studio and streaming network, which has become one of the largest independent providers of content to ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platforms, in addition to providing the largest free direc ...

digitally on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

. It currently is not available on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...

. The film has aired in the mid 1990's on television in the USA on

Pay-Per-View Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

and

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

and in

, on

Cinépop Cinépop is a Canadian French language Category B pay television channel owned by Bell Media. Cinépop broadcasts films from the 1950s to the present without commercial interruption. History In November 2000, Astral Media, through its subsidi ...

Plot

Three teenage boys in small-town

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

are thrilled when Luke Cooper, a mysterious American

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

with a gunshot wound to his leg, decides to crash their secret hideout. Luke tells them that he is a cop on the run from corrupt colleagues, and swears them to silence. As he recuperates, he becomes their buddy and confidant. By the time the boys realize that Luke is not who he pretends to be, they are too deeply involved.

Cast

Soundtrack

#"Harnessed in Slums",

Archers of Loaf Archers of Loaf is an American indie rock band originally formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1991. The group toured extensively and released four studio albums, one compilation, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was release ...

#"Universe",

Eric's Trip Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative ...

#"Failed You", The Pasties #"Old Enough",

Crash Vegas Crash Vegas was a Canadian folk rock band which formed in 1988, and achieved moderate success in the early 1990s. Biography The band was formed by Michelle McAdorey and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo in 1988, who were also in a romantic relationship. ...

#"Devil",

Drugstore A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

#"Disease",

Sister Machine Gun Sister Machine Gun is an American industrial rock band originally based in Chicago, Illinois. History The early years Sister Machine Gun was formed by Chris Randall and Guilherme Machado in New York City. They performed at New Jersey's Pipe ...

#"Coconut Cream",

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...

#"Jesus", Vowel Movement #"Misogyny",

Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...

#"Too Easy", Wagbeard #"Gun Pointed", Taste of Joy #"Monkeysucker", The Killjoys #"Everything", The Killjoys #"Morphine", Moist #"You Shine Bright",

#"My Favorite Martian", The Doughboys #"The Letter",

Bif Naked Beth Torbert is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. Early life and education Bif Naked was born in New Delhi, India, to teenage parents a ...

#"Over Your Shoulder",

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

#"Moment",

Crawl Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to: Biology * Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait * Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground * Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characterize ...

#"Neighborhood Villains", The Doughboys #"The Secret",

54-40 The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in t ...

Awards and nominations

The film garnered five

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nominations at the

17th Genie Awards The 17th Genie Awards were held on November 27, 1996, to honour films released in late 1995 and 1996. They were the ''second'' Genie Award ceremony held in that year; the 16th Genie Awards were delayed from the fall of 1995 and took place in Janua ...

in 1996: *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

( John Fawcett) * Best Actor (

) * Best Art Direction/Production Design ( Taavo Soodor) * Best Editing ( Susan Maggi) *

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

(Doug Smith) and (

Peter Wellington (director) Peter Wellington is a Canadian film and television director. His films have included '' Joe's So Mean to Josephine'', for which he won the Claude Jutra Award in 1996,1996 films 1996 crime drama films 1996 crime thriller films 1996 directorial debut films 1990s Canadian films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s teen drama films 1990s thriller drama films Canadian coming-of-age drama films Canadian crime drama films Canadian crime thriller films Canadian teen drama films Canadian thriller drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by John Fawcett Films set in Ontario Teen crime films Teen thriller films {{crime-thriller-film-stub