Movie review - "Tuff Turf" (1985) ***

 It didn't really twig for me until about 30 minutes in that James Spader was meant to be a former rich kid sent to a crummy high school -  once I got that, then I understood this film and why Spader was cast. It shouldn't have been hard to set that up.

This is part teen melodrama, with Spader falling for the girl (Kim Richards, very pretty and good) of the local hoon (Paul Mones, who Michael Pare slapped around in Streets of Fire). It's also part musical with Spader singing to Richards, and forcing her to dance with him, and big production numbers, and lots of music.

Nice to see Spader playing a hero in this era, and Robert Downe y Jnr as his friend. Spader and Richards are a cute couple and Mones is a decent villain. It goes on a bit - the final fight is especially long - and lacks the strong handling of a really good B but it was fun.

Movie review - "Is This is the Real World" (2015) ***

 Decent Aussie film which captures the violence and tension of high school. The direction has some flair -tracking shots, music. Sean Keenan has probably played the moody young man role too many times but there's a reason he keeps getting cast in those parts.

More could have been done with Susie Porter's character I feel and the brother but everyone acts well and the handling is sure.

Movie review - "Mean Girls" (2024) ***

 Odd to watch. I'm so familiar with the original and this plays such lip service to it - repeats catchphrases and so on. Angourie Rice is a better actress than Lohan but not as charismatic. The love interest is a better actor too but it doesn't work his character not being dumb - it makes him mean. I kept thinking Rene Rapp was Sydney McSweeney.  Auli'i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey are gerat. The girls who play Amanda Seyfried and Lacy Chabert aren't as good.

I like how Tina Fey's character hooked up with Tim Meadows but feel the film would've been better with new actors playing these roles. The film is stronger going its own way - the musical numbers are done with imagination. I get why they did what they did.

Movie review - "Bottoms" (2024) ****1/2

 A movie of some blinding brilliance, a worth successor to Heathers. The first half hour is dazzlingly good. I worried they'd be able to maintain it and there are wobbles but it keeps bringing out the goods - a genuinely moving romance, pushing the edge with the finale (going to murder), a shocking sequence where a girl is genuinely beaten up. The two leads are stars, the cast is fabulous.

Movie review - "Beat Girl" (1960) **1/2

 An old school melodrama - sulky teen reacts badly to dad's new wife - is given modern trappings. Gillian Hills has plenty of curves and pouts as the teen - she's gorgeous, was discovered by Roger Vadim, and can act well enough. I'm surprised she didn't become a bigger star.

The modern trappings incude the Soho setting - Hills is tempted to become a stripper in a sleazy club run by Christopher Lee. The cast is lots of fun. Noelle Adams is the step mum, David Farrar is dad, kids hanging out include Adam Faith, Peter McEnery, Oliver Ree and Shirley Ann Field. 

John Barry provided music. There's some entertaining beanik dialogue and kids dancing.

Book review - "The Delinquents" by Criena Rohan (1962)

 Lovely book. A romance between two young kids - Brownie, whose muscular young body is frequently described by Rohan, a Lola, a Eurasian. They get together in Bunaberg, she gets knocked up, trouble ensues. His dad is not around her mother shags her boarders who punch Brownie. Lola's mum is a drunk. It is romantic but the world is harsh - I loved the little cameos of people like cops, abortion nurses (side descriptions like the nurse not telling Lola that it was a three month old baby put in an incinerator, a cop who felt sad for her, a welfare mother who loved her power). The mum is well described, as is the picture of Brisbane (its not a loving portrayl - bleak, hot and bitchy, full of police raids, and tsk-tsking over bodgies).

I was surprised to find myself agreeing with some changes from the film adaptation. Adopting Mavis' kid was a more upbeat finale to tie in with the wedding. Although I did like the heartbreak of saying goobye to the kid.

They should film this properly.

Movie review - "Zombies 3" (2022) **

 I know why they went for aliens, I get it... it doesn't feel right somehow though. It felt as though the newcomers should be something more earth bound - like say mermaids or something. There's too much plot towards the end.

But a nice cast, and breezy tunes. There's even a hint at a lesbian relationship between a werewolf and an alien. Why is that girl on the screen the whole time?

Movie review - "Zombies 2" (2020) **1/2

 They bring in werewolves for this. Song and dance numbers are still great as are the stars. The love triangle hinted at with the leads might've been more effectively developed. Bright and cheerful. Good fun.

Movie review - "Zombies" (2018) ***

 Bright, charming musical with an engaging sense of the absurd (including direct to camera address), likeable cast, well covered serious subtext, and some really terrific song and dance numbers. What a talented cast! Meg Donnell was particularly impressive.

Movie review - "A Cinderella Story" (2004) **1/2

 Absolutely fine. Made with life and some fun support performances. Though I'm not sure Cinderella is really poor here - she has a car. Pads out running time with straight geeky best friend. -I guess Ducky from Pretty in Pink was an influence though he doesn't seem into Hilary Duff. Male lead required by plot to be really stupid but Chad Michael Murray pulls it off. Regina King is in this, and Jennifer Coolidge, and Madeleine Zima and Simon Helberg.

Movie review - "Meatballs" (1979) ***

 I loved this film as a kid and it's a great starring vehicle for Bill Murray who is always ideal as an anti-authoritarian figure rebelling. It doesn't age entirely well, such as Murray manhandling his female love interest. I had trouble telling the Canadian support cast apart with some exceptions such as Kristine de Bell. 

I think it resonated in part because of the whole kids at camp thing - romance amongst the counsellors, and the struggles of Chris Makepeace to fit in and make friends. Makepeace's relationship with Murray is well done pat the dog. (Apparently the Murray-Makepeace two handers were shot in post production to give the film more heart and they work a treat.)

There's a nice sense of camraderie - you sense the counsellors and kids are like one big dysfunctional yet loving family. I enjoyed how Murray's "It just doesn't matter" speech felt like a comedy impro bit at Second City. The girls are allowed to play more than they were in a typical 80s comedy and its sentimentality indicates what Animal House would've been like had Ivan Reitman directed that instead of John Landis.

I remembered all the songs. Like, all of them.

Movie review - "Flirting" (1991) ****

 This suffered a little at the time in comparison with The Year My Voice Broke but has developed its own reputation and cult following. It's more positive, less harrowing, more warm... though boarding school is clearly still horrible.

John Duigan's sense of observation is as strong as ever. This is full of recognisable scenes and moments: the dopey idiot with braces (Kiri Paramore is perfect as a true Australian type), the chubby kid with boobs talking about girl breasts, the dopey school captain hero who is dull as dishwater talking about his grazier father being "a man for all seasons", the banter, the depiction of racism, the sadism of Marshall Napier, the amiable ignorance of Jeff Truman, the bullying "Backa" Burke, the awkward chat between Newton's and Taylor's parents.

Nicole Kidman is a little too old for her part not helped by the wig (and her dimension basically means she wants it). It's fun to see Naomi Watts and Kym Wilson as her mates though neither has much to do or play. Bartholomew Roberts is great as Noah Taylor's pompous friend, another familiar type.

Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor are superb in their roles - it does make a difference knowing that Newton and Duigan had an affair.

But it's a lovely romantic film full of excellent moments.

Movie review - "The Year My Voice Broke" (1987) ****

 While Kennedy Miller TV was super collaborative, the features division was more auteur driven. This came from John Duigan, who had just made Vietnam.

Some of this is just so spot on, achingly so - the pack of kids throwing Leone Carmen into the water, Ben Mendhelson almost drowning Carmen, the boorish bullies (including a young Rob Carleton) who read out Taylor's poetry and thump him at school, Harold Hopkins giving a speech to the football team as they eat oranges at half time, the blokes always at the pub heckling away.

Few films captured unrequited love as well - helped immeasurably by the casting. Noah Taylor is insecure, small, rat faced (sorry but it is), tiny... it's clear why he's besotted with Leone Carmen, blonde and gorgeous, and why she's keen on Ben Mendelsohn, the swaggering cocky guy with the ridiculous laugh. All three are very Australian, familiar types.

Some of it is of its time - Taylor looking at Carmen's panties for instance. The one clunky scene was when Taylor walked past his parnts room and heard them arguing about Carmen's mother.

I remember not liking this when I saw it as a teenager. Then I saw it again in my late twenties and thought it was the best movie ever. Years later it impresses but I don't have the same emotional reaction. I recognise this is all personal.

Movie review - "OC and Stiggs" (1987) **

 Famed as Robert Altman's worst movie though there are a few contenders to that throne. It's his attempt at a teen film, and he definitely did an Altman version - there's the overlapping dialogue, improvised feel, ramshackle nature and so on.

The plot focuses on the antics of two troublesome friends, a little like Trapper and Hawkeye in MASH only it's hard to differentiate these two. The actors are fine just lacking a little in individuality. They spend a lot of time pulling pranks including tormenting a young Jon Cryer. Cynthia Nixon is in this too. And Dennis Hopper, Paul Dooley and Jane Curtin. Once you get in its rhythm it's fine, it's just weird that it exists.

This was shot in 1983 but not released until 1987 or something. I get why but why did they hire Altman to make it?

Movie review - "Blurred" (2002) **1/2

 Bright Aussie teen film with plenty of energy, engaging cast and good ideas. It doesn't quite work. The problem is easily identified... in my opinion anyhow... and it was something not picked up on my any of the critics that I read. All the central situations have potential but they aren't developed.

Craig Horner is besties with Veronica Sywak and Kristen Schmid and they hook up. Great scenario - when three becomes a crowd. Horner is very good. But that happens at the end, after we've just hung out with them, when it needed to happen earlier, and we play out the real drama i..e Horner finding life without his best friends.

Tony Brockman wanting to break up with Jess Gower because it's schoolies. That's great. But then Brockman just sits on a seat and gets wasted with a girl and... nothing much happens. Gower grabs Jamie Croft to root him and... she doesn't. No story progression. You could've spun it any sort of way. Had a romance. A fight. Just some relationship progression. But instead they jump up and down on the spot.

Mark Priestley and Travis Cotton as two yokels going to schoolies - great. But they just yokel around, run into Damien Garvey, do more yokeling. Then they meet the two private school girls and it looks like they might get off on them... and you go "that's the story. Those four having a romance." But they dismiss it in one scene.

Nathalie Roy as a posh girl meeting some raucus boys, but one seems nice... That has promise. Girl letting to let hair down. But we find out straight away the boy is a lout. No progression.

The film is good in its serious moments - Horner realising his two friends want to root, Horner making friends with Roy at the beach,  Gower and Croft saying goodbye.

A lot of the comedy is uncomfortable. I don't mean to sound old but two girls getting wasted and driving a limo erratically on the road... that's frigging dangerous. The scenes where Nathalie Roy is surrounded by boozy aggro boys is realistic in a really unfun way.

Movie review - "Puberty Blues" (1981) ***1/2

I loved the TV series but this film holds up well in its ripped from the headlines way - it was contemporary but doesn't sell out. The two lead girls are rough but perfect, they look authentic, as does the boys.

Bruce Beresford excellent in anthropological studies, and this is definitely one - the kicker being these aren't working class girls but middle class girls chasing after social acceptance.

The face that has stuck with me is Freda - the not good looking girl who sleeps around and is ignored. She was heart breaking and I hope the character on which she was based is happy. Geoff Rhoe has a nice presence. I related to the parents a lot more this time around. Beresford keeps the pace fast though I did feel they could do more with the climax. He really was on a hot streak around this time. I think only Ken G Hall matched it.

Movie review - "Booksmart" (2019) *****

Wonderful movie - an absolute tonic. Perfectly realised and performed, terrific cast and direction. Olivia Wilde has had a dream debut (I'm sure it was a nightmare but she seems so sure of herself). Four writers are credited but the script feels smooth.

Okay some nitpicking - occasionally the adult stars go overboard and mug a little. I didn't quite buy these girls would be unable to find the party for so long, and would go to the library to do so. The Triple A character felt as though she needed a middle beat.

But so much is magical. The chemistry. The affection the filmmakers have for their characters. The Midsummer Night's Dream style feel this has at times - such as the character Gigi. The characters feel recogniseable yet fresh - the driven know it all nerd, the lesbian with oh so understanding Christian parents, the party guy, the enigma girl.

It's just a fantastic film.

Movie review - "Rock Pretty Baby" (1956) **1/2

Universal jump on the teen rock bandwagon and were rewarded with a hit film with this, which turned John Saxon into a teen idol.

The plot has Saxon, Sal Mineo and their friends in a band together and Saxon has troubles with his dad (Edward Platt from Get Smart).

It's got plenty of rock music and dancing at the hop - Mineo does the drums and Saxon plays the guitar extremely well. It's a studio picture so the production values are high and the acting of good quality - the cast also includes Luana Patten, Shelley Fabares, and Fay Wray! And Henry Mancini did the music.

I quite liked this film. The teens were depicted sympathetically, and there were enjoyable family scenes. I believed the family, with dad struggling to understand the son, Saxon being moody, the kid brother wise cracking and sister Fabares causing trouble. I liked the father son chat even if it is a bit annoyingly simplistic that Plat goes "oh all your troubles are because of a girl".)

Patten is very sweet and there's a hot scene where she and Saxon go for a late night swim and make out afterwards in the dark and they both kind of want to have sex but she resists. I mean, they give it the 1956 studio treatment and she says no, but there's some hot moments.

It's really Saxon's film - he's too old for a teen and dark and brooding with hair that's going to recede but he's quite good, as an imitation James Dean. Sal Mineo is wasted as Saxon's friend - he has a moment where he talks about his parents wanting him to be a doctor, and talks slang and makes out with a girl and plays drums but doesn't have his own subplot. It's a shame - they should have done that, and if they couldn't they could have turned him into a villain.

Movie review - "Because They're Young" (1960) **

Dick Clark is an American icon but rarely appears on TV in Australia - we mostly know him from cameos in movies, so we get that he's a big deal, he just doesn't mean much. (Same for their "iconic" tonight show hosts like Johnny Carson).

This was his dramatic debut - he was a producer as well as a star. It's a black and white melodrama, closer to something like The Blackboard Jungle only milder. Clark is a new idealistic teacher with a tendency to get too close to his students - so warns the principal.

Just so we know he's straight (the opening scene has him and an eight year old boy in a car the boy waking up... it's his orphaned nephew but still... the opening scene?) he romances the principal's secretary, Victoria Shaw.

But really he's interested in his students - specifically male students. There are some women (Roberta Shore, Tuesday Weld who surely was a bigger star than any of the boys) but they are appendages to the men.

The main subplots: Michael Callan was a delinquent but seems to be going good... only is tempted back into his old life by his boss. Warren Berlinger is a football player whose mother turns out to be a (gasp) slut. Callan wants to start up again with Tuesday Weld but she hangs around Berlinger. Doug McClure wants to have sex with girlfriend Shore.

It's not very well plotted. The love triangle between Callan, Weld and Berlinger is hopelessly underdone - it's also unpleasant as Callan is rapey with Weld and Berlinger doesn't seem interested in Weld and Weld seems interested in neither. McClure and Shore may as well be cut out of the film - they're so wet. There is some comedy at the end with them saying "gee aren't we lucky" and "we can still have fun" (so... anal sex?)

There is some stuff that works like Callan's middle aged boss being a criminal, the switch blade fellow crim coming after Callan at the end, the relationship between Clark and Shaw is quite mature. and nicely done. Clark is a bit smiley with a weird head but not terrible. The main fault of the film is not working on those subplots.

Callan's character is really unpleasant. Turning good at the end helps a little but not a lot. Why not give him a dance? They've go Duane Eddy and James Darren performing at the school dance they don't push it that much. Weld is wasted completely (the issue of romance with the boys is unresolved). McClure and Shore are pointless. Berlinger is never believable as a football player.  It's awful how his mother apologises for having a sex life.

A frustrating film because director Paul Wendkos does a decent job and the acting quality is pretty good. A few tweaks - using the storylines properly, giving the women some agency, etc - and this would have been fine.

Movie review - "Spiderman: Homecoming" (2018) ****1/2

I really loved this movie. Part of Marvel's success has been their ability to reinvent themselves and with this Spiderman film they did what in hindsight seems obviously but is rarely actually done - quietened down, went back to the source material, went back to character.

Tom Holland's Peter Parker is the first one who actually genuinely seems like a high school student. They make him 15 and he seems young - he acts young, he wants to impress "dad" (Tony Stark), and is constantly and annoyingly enthusiastic, gets distracted by school and the girl he likes. It's very well done.

The girl in the film is a dream girl - she's not even a manic pixie, just a dream - but she's at least smart and diverse. It's brilliant how baddy Michael Keaton is her dad and he's a fantastic villain - very scary, and given decent motivation (a working class guy who's entitled - a Trump voter). I liked the alternate girl and Peter's best friend who gets to achieve his dream of being "the guy in the chair" (this was lovely screenwriting set up and pay off)

Robert Downey Jr and Jon Favreau had a lot of spice, the action scenes are done with Marvel's typical expertise but the strength of this is in the character work and the depiction of the world. It's a shame Marisa Tomei didn't have more to do.