Review of Times Square (1980) by Sarah P — 03 Jun 2008
I'd heard about this movie and been wanting to see it for years (apparently it's out of print, even the dvd now!), and finally had a chance to the other day thanks to Netflix. It was definitely worth the wait, and was as much up my alley as I'd guessed! Tis the story of two misfit girls who meet in 80's NYC (i.e. back before Times Square was still sleazy and raw, before Giulani Disneyfied it), escape from a mental hospital together and forge a bond. One's a rich girl running away from her conservative dad (Trini Alvarado, wow, looking so young here!) and the other a street-smart homeless butch riot grrl, way before riot grrl.
Apparently the original lesbian aspect of the storyline was severely edited out of the script and the final cut (grar), but you can definitely still see major elements of it there; quite reminded me of my beloved "Heavenly Creatures", actually.
Even better, the whole flick is chock-full of great punk/New Wave music, and also co-stars TIM CURRY (!) as rebel deejay "Johnny LaGuardia," who inspires the girls. You can totally tell this movie sowed the seeds for Allan Moyle's later effort "Pump Up The Volume" as well. Anyway, Tim is The Sex as always...
Like "The Legend of Billie Jean" (also out of print, grr), this is a total 80's teen feminist cult classic! And makes me kinda miss the old Times Square.
This review of Times Square (1980) was written by Sarah P on 03 Jun 2008.
Times Square has generally received positive reviews.
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