Review of Satisfaction (1988) by Teresa W — 23 Jun 2009

I'm probably unduly fascinated with movies like this, semi-forgotten not because they're particularly bad but because there's nothing terribly exceptional about them. That's not to say that there aren't rewards in rediscovering the middle of the road - I'm totally glad I got to see Justine Bateman's spastic cowbell dance and her Elvis Costello cover.

Also, Britta Phillips is really fun here, essentially playing Melody from Josie and the Pussycats if she'd been allowed to be an overt stoner instead of simply coded as spacey; an extended scene of her talking to a dog (and asking if it's a narc) is underplayed nicely.

So this is fun even aside from the "before they were stars" and "whatever happened to..." moments (Julia Roberts and Trini Alvarado, respectively). Just ignore the odd attempts to establish some kind of rebellious street cred for the main band members, all of which gets shot early on when they do an impromptu, acoustic rendition of "Iko Iko" with Roberts blowing into a champagne bottle like she's in a jug band.