Verdict
Summary
Pretty vivid and realistic as a coming of age rock music movie, Ladies and Gentleman The Fabulous Stains makes a lot of statements about youth, the ’80s, punk rock, sex, and fame that still feel relevant today, and director Lou Adler (Up in Smoke) gave the movie a strong vitality and fairly female-forward element that should resonate with current-era audiences.
Plot:
A rebel chick becomes a celebrity and pop star almost overnight.
Review:
When a local news crew captures the precise moment a cute but defiantly rebellious young woman named Corrine (Diane Lane at 15) is fired from her fast food gig and throws the ultimate insult back at her employer, the moment seems to crystallize teen revolt and ’80s punk chic for all eternity in amber because not only was it caught on film in a live broadcast to thousands – if not millions – of viewers at home, but it sparks a movement, of which Corrine finds herself as the centerpiece and mascot, even if she doesn’t quite understand or grasp what she’s done. She gets fan mail for months afterwards, and the news broadcasters won’t let go of the story, as it were, and they pester her with reruns of the clip where she inadvertently became an “anti” celebrity in her dumpy hometown. When a local nightclub hotspot hosts a couple of rock bands, including a washed-up acid rock group and their opening act, an energetic British invasion punk band (with a young Ray Winstone as the front man) that catches Corrine’s eye, the encounter sparks something within her. She and her sister Tracy (Marin Kanter) and their cousin Jessica (Laura Dern) have a little band of their own, and by a miracle they convince the road manager of the other two bands to let them be a backup opening act so long as it gets them the hell out of their depressing town. Now on the road to cities and small towns all over America, Corrine and her band The Stains give their first performance and it completely backfires, but in the best way possible as they bomb their first gig but use it to their advantage with a statement that “they don’t put out” despite being hot, leggy teenagers with see-through blouses and wild punk hairstyles. Their appearance and statement catches on from town to town, and the news outlets pick up the story, realizing that Corrine is already a minor celebrity, and they run with it. Suddenly, The Stains are a huge draw wherever they’re asked to perform, and when the acid rock band drops out of the tour, it’s just The Stains and the British band, but the entire dynamic of the tour shifts when Corrine becomes a star and the British band is left in the dust. Now a commercial success, which seems to be the antithesis of Corrine’s entire philosophy (which she’s figuring out as she goes), The Stains arrive at a crossroads when Corrine does “put out,” as it were (with the front man of the band she’s touring alongside), and the question of whether or not Corrine sells out for success and fame comes into question, setting the stage of what will be a very active and vivacious youth in the ’80s for these tough chicks in The Stains.
Pretty vivid and realistic as a coming of age rock music movie, Ladies and Gentleman The Fabulous Stains makes a lot of statements about youth, the ’80s, punk rock, sex, and fame that still feel relevant today, and director Lou Adler (Up in Smoke) gave the movie a strong vitality and fairly female-forward element that should resonate with current-era audiences. Star Lane is great in the movie, and while there are a few eyebrow-raising moments where she’s required to be nude or basically nude, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it exploitive. Perhaps it’s “empowering,” perhaps it’s not. You figure it out. The music in the film isn’t especially good, but it’s good enough to illustrate the talent – or lack of it – of its characters in the film. Worth checking out, in any case, this one was unfairly shoved aside for decades and forgotten about.
Fun City Editions has just released a fully loaded two-disc 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray set of this one, and it comes in a gorgeous restored transfer. Special features include four separate audio commentaries (one is with Lou Adler, another is with Lane and Dern, the other two are with film historians), and a bevy of “making of” videos, interviews, deleted scenes, and more.
Bonus Materials
- Image gallery
- English subtitles
- Double-sided wrap with legacy and newly-designed artwork by Scott Saslow and Marc Edward Heuck
- Archival audio commentary by director Lou Adler
- Archival audio commentary by stars Diane Lane and Laura Dern
- Newly recorded audio commentary by Marc Edward Heuck
- Newly recorded audio commentary by Jake Fogelnest and Marc Edward Heuck
- “The Fabulous Stains: Behind the Movie,” archival making-of video featurette by Sarah Jacobson and Sam Green
- Alternate opening title sequence from 35mm workprint
- Deleted scenes from 35mm workprint (presented silent and with commentary from Marc Edward Heuck and Jonathan Hertzberg)
- Reel of dailies from music video shoot
- Archival audio interview with Night Flight co-creator Stuart Shapiro
