The Facts of Life Down Under

This movie has a little more thrill than the first one. Atfer the first trip to Paris 5 years ago, the gang: Blair(Lisa Whelchel), Tootie(Kim Fields), Natalie(Mindy Cohn), and Jo(Nancy McKeown). This time, the go to the Land Down Under:(Australia) where there's an International problem going on there. A jewel heist, and a Communist plot are in the ploy. Blair and Jo get caught up in the heist, Natalie get lost in the Outback where she is found by an outdoors-man. It was funny when the camel licked her feet while she was asleep. And Tootie meets this fake Aborigine who turned out to be a Yale student. It was also great when Natalie foiled the plan with a boomerang. The only difference in this movie is actress Cloris Leachman playing Edna's sister Beverly Ann. She has a old love that was living there, and she wanted to reminisce the old times with the guy. A very good movie, very different though, I didn't care about what was original and what wasn't, I knew about Charlotte Rae's departure from the show earlier. This movie doesn't hurt anything. It had plenty of action. 4 out of 5 stars!

After having already invaded Paris, The Facts of Life girls head to Australia. Their international misadventures may seem innocent and sweet, but they were in reality a cover-up for a secret Communist plot to upset the world order by sending New York schoolgirls to sway wavering countries to the comrade cause.

Er, not really! :-) The Facts of Life Down Under has nothing to do with Communism or world domination, but it does involve a harrowing jewelry theft of global proportions...which in essence doesn't jibe with the show's premise of showcasing adolescent & college-aged women coping with life's problems. Not too many young women I'm familiar with find themselves being chased by tricky thieves and bumbling secret agents. Still, though, this TV movie does manage to capture most of what made the series so totally awesome - Tootie and Natalie get lost in the Outback, only to meet handsome men who set them back on the right path, while Beverly Ann and Andy spend some bonding time at a sheep farm (not bonding with the sheep, but with each other). With these subplots, it makes overlooking the ridiculous jewel heist main plot that much easier.

I have to give props to The Facts of Life Down Under for portraying some very gorgeous Australian scenery, both the geographical and the hottie hunk kind (including an early appearance by Mario Van Peebles). While it doesn't stay totally true to the spirit of the series, for the most part it does make an effort to find its heart.