Scuola di buone maniere

Set in a correctional facility for young female offenders, Reform School Girls is technically a Women in Prison movie, but don't expect anything too sleazy ala the films of Jess Franco—as far as the genre goes, this mid 80s effort from seasoned trash director Tom DeSimone is one of the lighter examples, designed to be fun rather than offensive.

While it does deliver most of the standard WIP ingredients—cat-fights, communal shower scenes, bull dykes, fragile first-timers, and physical abuse—it's all done in knowingly camp fashion with tongue firmly in cheek. The big-breasted women saunter round their dorm in sexy lingerie, the nastier inmates and members of staff are grotesque caricatures, the dialogue is deliberately tasteless ('I thought I smelled fish'), and the plot is about as cheesy as it could get.

Let's face it, any film which sees a scantily clad Wendy O. Williams, lead singer of punk/rock group The Plasmatics, stood atop a speeding bus on a collision course with a sadistic, overweight, shotgun toting head matron called Edna (a memorable performance from Pat Ast) was never intended to be taken all that seriously.

This could be the greatest t&a movie of all time. It's the ultimate 80's women-in-prison movie. It's got loads of nudity, some very sick wardens (the awesome Sybil Danning), and Wendy O. Williams spending most of the film in a g-string! This is a low-budget exploitation film that delivers the goods. There was actually some pretty good acting in the film. If only i would have owned this film when i was 12! It's a fun and cheesy movie that gives you exactly what you'd want from a women-in-prison flick. The scene where Wendy O. Williams crashes a bus is a classic. 80's cheese and squeeze.I highly recommend doing a double feature with Hollywood chainsaw hookers...that'd be a fun night.

Reform School Girls' biggest problem is that the line between camp and serious drama appears to be very thin and it's hard to tell exactly what the creators had in mind when they made this. On one had, you have the over the top performance of Wendy O. Williams and Pat Ast, but there are also several unpleasant and sleazier aspects that aren't treated with the same campy, tongue in cheek quality.

It's still very entertaining at times, but it could use a slight trim here and there even at just 94 minutes. If you're in it for the nudity, you'll be happy.

Taking time out from the John Wayne Marathon for a public service. In anticipation of our favorite heiress going to jail next month, I wanted something that she might watch to give her an idea of what to expect, I found this movie with some bizarre characters like Wendy Williams, lead singer for the infamous 80s punk rock band, 'The Plasmatics,' who committed suicide a few years ago. She was absolutely beyond belief as she paraded the entire movie in leather or panties, and even a thong at the end.

Of course there was Sybil Danning, from the Grindhouse segment Werewolf Women of the SS as the bible-spouting Warden, who looked the part of an SS She-Wolf.

Pat Ast was the 350-lb matron who burned a bunny, stomped on a kitten and got justice for her evil laugh.

There were two shower scenes and one Rambo-type fire hose scene that was way more cool that Rambo: First Blood.

Food fights, girl fights, riots, and bra and panties for most of the movie. Our little heiress should get a good taste of prison life with this film.

"Don't just stand there, bring me something to wipe my shoe."

I had never seen a "women in cages" movie prior to seeing this, so I really had no idea what to expect. Which is good, because no expectations could have prepared me for this, anyway. Reform School Girls is lurid, sordid, exploitative, pure cheese, and yes, even entertaining. If you can handle the absurdity of it all, anyway.

The plot is paper thin (Othello, this is not). A young woman gets sent to a reform school/youth prison after a botched bank robbery, and tangles with the corrupt warden and head matron, as well as a gang of vicious girls. That's basically it. And there's lots of underwear. 

Basically, you probably already know if you like these kinds of movies, or you're a newbie like me. If you're unfamiliar with the genre, aren't easily offended, and have a fondness for campy/tongue-in-cheek absurdity, I suggest you try this out for the sheer novelty of it. I'll be seeing a few more, just to see if they can possibly get even more over-the-top than Reform School Girls.