dbistolaridis
Let me break this down quick for you if you are considering this movie (you may be snowed in, on hospital bedrest, stranded in a hotel in an unappealing place):Positives 1. Kim Richards is pretty and is adorable in her urban clothes 2. Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader are also tasty 80's eye candy 3. Chuckles at watching 80's style urban rebellion...BRIEF! 4. Chuckles at watching 80's style discipline issues at school-MOMENTARY! 5. Chuckles at some cute and some outrageous styles (apparently male nipples were acceptable at urban California high schools in the 80's).FLEETING 6. A snicker at some of the badly executed dance moves, Flashdance couldn't save these moves.-SPORADIC MOMENT HERE OR THERENegatives1. Oh wow, could this story be any sillier? So many silly details laying all over the place like cheap parade candy. Shooting cockroaches on bedroom walls, high school students moonlighting as armed muggers, friends who convince their friends to leave by shoving their food all over their faces)2. Again with the storyline-very ridiculous and sometimes hard to believe or to even follow...some of this could be an editing issue.3. Poor acting! This is clearly not the role for James Spader to shine his very considerable and worthy acting skills. Robert Downey Jr. is believable with his typical 80's style laid back guy...the rest are just fools in headbands.4. Badly shot...apparent even to me, hardly an expert in this type of thing.5. Seriously???? Do these movie makers think urban teens are psycho paths???The overall film just looks dirty as well...not just the fault of the cockroaches. Instead of a vintage gem found at a cool little flea market...this gives of the feel of finding some dirty used old crap in your reclusive uncle's basement, the one with hoarding tendencies. UGH
PeterMitchell-506-564364
Here is an '85 surprise hit, and something original too. Although this movie only came out at the drive in, I love this movie, every time I watch it. I remember seeing the shorts, and from there I took a vested interest in it, and when it finally came to viewing time, I was in no way disappointed. James Spader is the rebel who gets on the wrong side of the Tuffs, the most feared gang in high school, led by Mick, a fantastic ferocious performance by Paul Mones who outdoes Spader in the acting league. He brings to the role a truly, scared, feared, pathetic, pitiable character. Even though it runs over two hours in running time, time just breezes past in this movie, that saw Robert Downey Junior in one of his first roles, as an out there student/wannabe rocker, who befriends Spader. He brings that same Downey charm as he does in all his roles, even though he only has a small one. The movie opens up with a great soundtrack, as our rebel crusader, Spader, prevents a mugging from the Tuffs, which is how he ends up on the wrong side of them as they happen to attend the same school, that he's just started at. To make things worse Spader falls for the gang leader's woman, Frankie (Kim Richards in an impressive, dynamic, and very real performance, proving later on that's she's not as tough as she acts out. Spader is just average in his role, nothing special, where the older actors are better also. For an R rated movie, this one is quite tame, one scene involving a dead rat hanging in Spaders locker, it's blood dripping onto Spaders books. Sometimes it only takes one scene, but even for under eighteens (I was 16, 9 months when I saw it) this is one you should get your parents to go out and hire for ya. Let's face it, Silence of the Lambs would be much more disturbing than this. Some unexpected surprises arrive in this film too, with Spader and friends (and that includes, Mick's girl) crash a good club posing as members, skimming the huge buffet, smorgasboard, but funny too, is the way they blend in with the other folk, Downey always the comedian. And if this isn't a surprise enough, Spader gets Frankie up on the piano, and sings this beautiful song to her. This is one cool movie, it's climax a blockbuster, realistic as the whole movie is, with an optimistic ending that makes the whole viewing worth it. Fine quality drama, with great music tracks and believable characters. Anyone who disses a film like this needs a brain transplant, immediately.
rorystevens
I rented this film because I'm a fan of Kim Richards, who starred in "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "Return to Witch Mountain."This movie reminded me so much of "West Side Story" because of the gang violence, all the dance numbers, and the events that parallel the story in "West Side Story." You can tell that whoever wrote the screenplay for "Tuff Turf" closely patterned it off of the sequence of events in "West Side Story" and "Romeo and Juliet." A guy meets a girl at a dance, she's part of a gang that doesn't like this guy, and despite being on opposite sides of the tracks, the guy and the girl fall for each other, and obstacles and bad things happen as a result. At the end of the movie, Kim Richards even channels Natalie Wood by picking up the gun and saying "How many bullets are left!? Enough for you!?"Anyway, if you're a fan of the '80s time period, this movie should be enjoyable. I really enjoyed this movie, it had a good love story, and there was a lot of suspense because you really didn't know whether this movie would have a happy ending or a tragic ending.I'm surprised Kim Richards never made anymore movies after this. She gave such a great performance, and she had the LONGEST hair, giving her such an edge to her hotness!
