Foxfire

The book was better. Much, much better. Even the presence of Angelina Jolie failed to salvage this feeble flick about a "girl gang." The 5 girls have practically no chemistry, and taking the setting out of the 1950s where it belongs, sexism and other social problems the ORIGINAL Foxfire girls fought seems irrelevant. Yeah, girl power, all the way. Let's talk about guys and hide out in an abandoned shack.

This is not by any stretch of the imagination a great film. The characters are two-dimensional, the plot is clunky, the sound is spotty, the directing is uneven... but "Foxfire" is worth watching because a previously unknown young actress named Angelina Jolie waltzed onto the set and completely stole this movie.

From her memorable entrance, with the camera panning slowly up from her boots, this movie belongs to Jolie. Part riot-grrl James Dean, part goth Ingrid Bergman, smoldering with sexual tension-- she's simply perfect in this part.

The rest of the cast is pretty solid, the indie rock soundtrack is great, and the story manages to avoid being completely predictable... which is pretty rare for a teen flick. "Foxfire" is a schlocky movie, to be sure, but it's definitely a guilty pleasure.

"Foxfire" is about a group of high school girls who are empowered by a mysterious rebel (Angelina Jolie) who drifts into their lives. That itself is a great theme, and I love a good rebel story as much as the next guy or gal.

But this isn't a straightforward "go girl power" flick. Early in the film, things start to get out of hand when the girls resort to violence and criminal activities, and as you can guess things get trickier as the film approaches its tense conclusion.

To me, the beauty of this film is not the simple message about girls fighting back. It's the complex theme of how far is too far? Whether you're a male or female, when is violence justified? And is vigilante justice true justice, or just another form of aggression? These are ideas which the director certainly wants us to consider. Although Jolie's character is definitely glorified for her badass ways, there are enough seeds of doubt to make us wonder if she's really such a great role model.

Excellent acting by a young Angelina Jolie make this a real treat to watch, even for people who aren't her fans. She plays a tough role: a person who is always in control, always cool, yet suppressing some vulnerabilities & volatile demons within.

The directing style is very artistic without getting bogged down with itself. Great attention is paid to colors and composition of shots which, if you pay attention to that sort of thing, will really impress you. I had initially feared that this would have an "ABC afterschool special" vibe to it, but it's clearly in a serious league. As a tangent to that thought, there is some nudity (male posterior in the beginning, and a scene with several topless girls performing a sort of ritual, none of which is sexual).

By the way, there's also a scene depicting a bunch of ill-fated frogs nailed to boards in biology class, but the disclaimer at the end says it was simulated and no animals were harmed.

"Foxfire" reminded me of two similar films that focus on young girls fighting back. These are: the iconic 1988 "Heathers" (a dark comedy about a few murder/suicides at a high school, starring a young Winona Ryder), and the relatively obscure but powerful 2000 "The Smokers" (another dark comedy about high school girls striking back at rapists... by raping them back!). Along with Foxfire (1994) all of these films, one for each decade, present the viewer with a very compelling look at feminism. But whether you're a guy or a girl (I'm a guy if you hadn't guessed), they present charming & chilling portrayals of vigilante justice. Oh, I'll add one more to the list, the most recent addition: "Super" (2010) a very funny--and very disturbing--look at what happens when the rebel gets too wrapped up in his/her idea of "justice". If this theme interests you, your time will not be wasted on any of this great movies.

I know women who have lived lives similar to the people in this movie, and it reminded me of them so much. This movie, which does contain some unoriginal pieces to it (which movies don't?), literally made me cry - I fell in love with it. The girls grouped together because they loved each other, and not for "lesbian" ways like some other people who've written on here have mentioned, but in a way of deep heartful respect and trust for each other. My girlfriend watched the movie with me (I first suggested the movie, by the way), and she cried as well, reminded of her past no doubt.

It was a lovely film of women coming of age, going through their rites of passage as it were, and was needed in our glut of male-only movies. I'm listening to the Colorado high school shootings now, and I feel that we need more of these rite of passage movies and less gun-toting movies, we need to get in touch with who we are as people... and this movie definitely touched on that subject well.

I have seen this movie in 1996 when it was released. We didn't know who Jolie was back then but I think this is where producers discovered her even though she'd already made a few movies. This film is mostly about different human beings meeting and changing the life of each other. Just like in real life, you meet someone that has nothing to do with you or your interests but this person will make you feel alive, make you do and beleive stuff you never thought possible. Legs is there only like a tornado sweeping off everything on it's path. And sometimes it can be a good thing. Of course there is many subject related to womwn solidarity, girl power, and bla bla bla. But really a movie is what you see but what comes out of it and what you learn is entirely up to you.