Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

FlashCallahan The Stains are a rock band comprised of sisters Corinne and Tracy, and their cousin Jessica. Their talent is questionable but the media attention on Corinne's personal life gets them a job as a support band on a U.S. tour. The tour headlines an ageing metal band - the Metal Corpses - and their lead-in act, the British rock band, the Looters. The Stains, purely there as a bookend between the two feuding acts, take the rock world by storm with further media attention centred on Corinne and her transformation into punk rock diva, and what her fans call "the skunk look". The dynamics on the tour quickly changes as the Stains' collective stars rise.......Another largely forgotten film from the eighties that has gained a cult following over the years, has again, passed me by up until now. And while the music is wonderful, and the poetry like babblings of Corrine are pretty genius, the rest of the film is decidedly ho-hum.The film shows fame in three different stages-the has beens, the strugglers, and the flash in the pan overnighters, which the latter is the titular group.Lane is brilliant as the wannabe anarchist, and her and Winstone make the film watchable, it's just the rest of the support are bland, and maunder there way through their stereotypical character arcs.But, as said before, I'm probably missing a trick not seeing it when first released, the element of propaganda and 'blaming the fame machine' is there, but it's too short of a film to really delve into the psyche of the main characters.Like the titular band, the film comes and goes too soon, a little more depth would have helped.

rooprect In the documentary "The Making of Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains" (which you can find on YouTube), the narrator mentions that 83 million Americans have seen Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; then he adds he's not sure if a total of 83 people have seen The Fabulous Stains.This is the quintessential cult classic. Like the original Jerky Boys tape (remember that?) it has been copied & re-copied and passed around from one VHS to another for the last 20 years. In interviews, even the stars of the film say they haven't seen the finished product. So if nothing else, you should feel special for having the opportunity to watch it.I'm part of the nu-crowd, having found this movie at a Blockbuster going out of business sale last week and buying the recently-released DVD for $3. I can see instantly how it became a cult classic. First, it features a cast of respected musicians (Sex Pistols, The Tubes, The Clash) as well as a very young Laura Dern (Jurassic Park, Wild at Heart) and a lead actress whom I'm shocked I haven't seen in any other films because she's fabulous: Diane Lane.Next we have a story about the underground music scene and a girl band's rise to stardom which predicted the whole Madonna craze 2 years before Madonna's debut album (as well as the Go-Gos and even Joan Jett). I think that's what makes this a great film--how prophetically accurate it was. The "old rockers" of the 70s (with outrageous makeup on their faces) were clearing the way for badass chicks with attitude (and outrageous makeup on their eyes). As Diane eulogizes in the film "He was an old man in a young girl's world." That theme is something you have to keep in mind while watching this. At the time, aside from maybe Janis Joplin, rock music didn't have a great history of bad girls, but audiences were demanding it. So not only does this film highlight the evolution of music, but it also foretells a new age of feminism in the industry.For me, what made the film really enjoyable was its realism. Touring with a rock band isn't all Ritz-Carlton and Leer jets, unless you're the Rolling Stones. No, touring with a rock band is dirty, smelly, cramped on a malfunctioning tour bus with shady promoters, managers and rival bands with a lot of catty attitudes. I can't think of any other film that tells it like it is.The biggest flaw of this film is the ending. I won't ruin it, but I'll just say it was NOT the ending intended by the original writer Nancy Dowd (as the rumors go, Nancy was so angry at the reworked ending that she took her name off the credits). Indeed, the ending seems a bit incongruous. But at the same time it makes sense on certain levels, so maybe it turned out for the best.Another problem is the way the film shows 15-year-old girls in a very sexual way. Sure, that's realism (as Fee Waybill says in the documentary, 'There was more sex & drugs going on behind the scenes than there was in the movie'), but it might--and should--make you feel a little uncomfortable watching a 15-year-old girl have sex. But hey, I guess that's one of the reasons why this was never the ABC movie of the week, and instead it was quickly buried for 20 years.So yeah, if you have a chance I think you should watch it. If nothing else, it's a great nostalgic trip back to the music scene of the 80s. But it's also very poignant in today's world. Diane's "meh" attitude toward life is exactly what confronts a lot of teens today in this increasingly cynical world.I'm happy that this film managed to get released on DVD, otherwise I never would've seen it. I just hope it doesn't get too popular, because that would kill some of its charm. I like the idea that there are only 82 other people who have seen it.

Jakemcclake SpoilersThis movie written, by Nancy Dowd, who is identified a Rob Morton in the movie credit, had strong philosophical statements. For example: "The thing is man, be yourself, because if you're not yourself, you're nobody." "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." "Come see me and come live with me are two different things" "You're just another girl, lining up to die. Sucker! Suckers! Suckers! Be yourself!" I felt this should have gotten a lot more notoriety. The only place to see this was on late night cable (It was never was on VHS, and it was only in a handful of movie theaters). The anger throughout this movie, the fact that one rock group gets famous stealing another rock groups song, little girls wearing see through blouses and the naked lovemaking scene between a 15 year old girl and a 23 year old man in the shower, may have caused the shelving of this movie for decades. When I watched this movie in the 80's I had never seen anything else with Diane Lane and as a result, I thought Diane was a very angry young (15 year old) lady who sings and was really into her rock music. Years later most of us know her to be anything but an angry rock singer, which also tells you that she is a great actress and played this part well. The songs and music are forgettable, except I did like the reggae song "Moving", which is worth a listen. That song first plays when they are on the tour bus and they leave Charlestown, Pennsylvania. Diane Lane and Laura Dern's comments about the movie on the DVD are worth listening to. This movie has inspired several all female rock groups, like "Bikini Kill" and it developed a strong following. Therefore, it finally, was released to the public on DVD. But consider it can take six weeks to get a copy of it, so you may just want to rent it. It is worth a view. Go ahead and see why it is a considered a cult classic.

elochai There is something about this movie that makes me think that it is one of the best as well as the worst films ever made. A side of me doesn't make me wonder as to why the studio execs never wanted to release this even as a slight cult-fringe film. It isn't that. It is not a cult-fringe film. I see this as a film where in a fine and precious moment in the early 80's there was a time when the 80's was defining itself. It was kicking in the teeth of the 70's and 60's with vigor. It pulls itself off and doesn't do so without kicking it's in own teeth as well. Believe it or not there is optimism. Check it out just for the sake of checking it out. It is worth it,Loved the mall scene!!