Review of Satisfaction (1988) by Stacy J — 30 Dec 2011

Although teen-oriented, music-based entertainment such as "Victorious" and "Lemonade Mouth" may be all the rage with the younger set these days, fusing tunes with movies and/or TV shows is really nothing new.

One need look no further than the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and the Monkees to see how far back music-based flicks/shows go. "Satisfaction" is a good early example of such entertainment.

However, it fails epically in multiple ways. The profanity count was MUCH higher than I was expecting for a "PG-13" film from the decade of excess; the s-word was tossed around like a normal part of conversation.

There was also some sexual innuendoes that were hinted at in a modern TV-movie style, but that didn't keep me from finding them inappropriate. Even the girls' wardrobe was rather immodest; although the beach scenes were a far cry from "From Justin to Kelly," the four "rock chicks" often wore low-cut and/or high-rise tops throughout the film, even when they were nowhere near a beach.

There were still a few positives, though: The acting was good, the film did show the consequences of drug addiction. It was also nice to see Justine Bateman (Mallory Keaton from "Family Ties") and Liam Neeson ("Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace"'s Qui-Gon Jinn) outside of their best-known roles.

The best thing about this movie, though, was the performances; they were wonderful. The four rocker girls and their guy keyboardist did some wonderful renditions of classic standbys such as "Knock on Wood," "Mr.

Big Stuff," and, of course, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". However, this film isn't worth sitting through just for that. Unless you're a die-hard fan of 80's music and/or movies who doesn't mind gobs of profanity, copious usage of drugs and alcohol, and implied sex, I'd suggest giving this one a wide berth.

I only wanted to see this one to say I'd seen it, but I honestly believe that I am no better for doing so. The performances are probably available on YouTube and/or iTunes; I recommend finding them on one or both of those places instead of plunking down money and wasting precious time on this piece of schlock.