Los Locos (1997)

Mario Van Peebles stars as Chance, a former cavalry scout who’s tarred and feathered and sent out into the desert.

He’s rescued by a man known as Buck, short for Buck Naked because he runs around in nothing but a loincloth.

Buck is one of the inmates at a mission / insane asylum run by the Mother Superior. The good mother is in ill health; when she dies, her mission will shut down.

She selects Sister Drexel to lead the inmates to a nearby mission. And Mother Superior chooses Chance to guide the way.

Mother Superior trusted Chance, believing he was sent to the mission by God. Sister Drexel has no such faith – in Chance, at least – and keeps him in chains. At least until marauders attack the small band and kill the good sister.

And, just like that, Chance finds himself in charge of a misfit group of characters that includes a lovely blonde named Allison with a split personality.

Problem is, she’s sought by a vicious outlaw named Manuel Batista.

Mario Van Peebles as Chance in Los Locos (1997)

Melora Walters as Allison in Los Locos (1997)

Review:

Surprisingly, surprisingly good, featuring a nice mix of humor and action.

One of the best scenes comes after Sister Drexel has been killed and Chance is trying to ride off on his own. One by one, each of the misfits decides they will align themselves with their new hero.

The motley group includes Presidente, a math whiz who can’t remember his past; Baby Brother, who has a fondness for rabbits; and Speckman, who has a habit of eating just about anything.

As for Allison, her other personality is named Jazmin, and Jazmin did a very bad thing to Batista that explains why he’s determined to track her down. The band winds up in something of a ghost town that’s under siege by Batista and his henchmen.

In addition to looking perfectly at home in a Western, Van Peebles wrote the script. He also directed and starred in the 1993 film “Posse.”

Danny Trejo as Batista in Los Locos (1997)

Rusty Schwimmer as Sister Drexel in Los Locos (1997)

Directed by:
Jean-Marc Vallee

Cast:
Mario Van Peebles … Chance
Rene Auberjonois … Presidente
Tom Dorfmeiser … Baby Brother
Paul Lazar … Buck
Rusty Schwimmer … Sister Drexel
Danny Trejo … Manuel Batista
Melora Walters … Allison
Eric Winzenried … Speckman
Jean Speegle Howard … Mother Superior
Jim Cody Williams … Wyatt
Brian “Skinny B.” Lewis … Thomas
Lisa Vitello … Claira

Runtime: 99 min.

Rene Auberjonois as Presidente in Los Locos (1997)

Eric Winzenried as Speckman in Los Locos (1997)

Memorable lines:

Mother Superior: “Do you ever wonder if you’ve done the right thing with your life?”
Chance, covered in bandages from having been tarred and feathered: “All the time.”
Mother Superior: “I came to this place as a young woman. We were going to bring God to the savages. I’m not sure who the savages are anymore.”

Chance: “I’m a free man.”
Sister Drexell: “You’re our navigator. You get us lost once, and I swear you’ll be wearing those chains straight into hell.”

Chance, to the misfits, trying to break away: “You all need more nursing than I got nipples.”

Allison, about Batista: “He was a real gentleman at first. And he gave Wyatt a heap of money for me … But when he’d get drunk, he’d turn real mean. One night, he took out his machete and started carving his name into my skin. When I woke up, there was blood everywhere. Machete was in my hand. At first, I thought he was dead. But then I seen what Jazmin done to him.”
Chance: “What?”
Allison: “She cut it off. She turned that old rooster into a hen.”

Tom Dorfmeiser as Baby Brother in Los Locos (1997)

Paul Lazar as Buck (Naked) in Los Locos (1997)

Jean Speegle Howard as Mother Superior in Los Locos (1997)

Mario Van Peebles as Chance in Los Locos (1997)