Times Square

This was a huge favorite of mine as a teenager. I have been looking for a copy of the film for the longest time and finally found one in Germany. It's strange that it's so hard to get a copy of a big cult film like this one.

The film captures well the essence of punk. It is about Nicky and Pamela, two teenage NYC girls. Nicky is from the streets with a dark past and from a broken home. She has serious anger issues but is street smart and has artistic talents. Pamela is from a rich (political) family, with the security that Nicky never had but suffers because her father does not understand her. She is a great poet and full of empathy but has never dared to live her life or take a chance. They meet at a hospital and run away. Together they start a mini punk renaissance in New York CIty.

Into this mix comes a radio host called Johnny LaGuardia (played by Tim Curry) who got a letter from Pamela before she ran away. When he finds out that Pamela is living on the streets he decides to use it to get a small scoop but also to fight against the politics Pamela's father stands for. Johnny LaGuardia wants NYC to stay as it is while Pamela's father wants to clean up the streets. Tim Curry is the weakest link in this film. It's hard to tell if it is because of the script or because he or the director did not understand Johnny LaGuardiahe. Tim Curry plays him as some kind of prophet while everything points to him being a self serving, fame seeking egocentric megalomaniac. Tim Curry is at least never a convincing prophet and we never get the feeling that Tim Curry is playing him sarcastically either.

Not every scene works in this film and it does not hold perfectly together but it has a very rich soul and a desire for sincerity which is very contagious. It also captures well the culture of NYC in the late 70s/early 80s and the reason why punk spoke to the youths. And it has one of the best sound track ever (including The Ramones, The Cure, XTC, Lou Reed, Gary Numan, Talking Heads, Garland Jeffreys, Joe Jackson, Suzi Quatro, Roxy Music, Patti Smith and The Pretenders.) and a lot of wonderful poetry, like this one:

"Dear Daddy, I am not kidnapped. I am me-napped, I am soul-napped, I am Nicky-napped, I am happy-napped.

We are having our own renaissance."

First of all, I saw the preview of the movie before it came out and it had the scene where Nicky silently urges Pammy to run away with her from the hospital, to The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated". That alone blew me away. Then I bought the 2 LP soundtrack before the movie came out and listened to it over and over. By the time the movie premiered, I was more than ready for it. It showed for two weeks at a local theater and I saw it once a day every day for two weeks. I really had no life! I ordered the VHS tape sometime in the 80's and paid $60 for it. Now I own the DVD and enjoyed the commentary. I don't have the CD and wonder if The Cars' Dangerous Type is on it.

Anyway, I don't have to tell you I loved it very much.

I know the editing was clumsy and they cut out so many scenes that sometimes it didn't make any sense, but it is such a fun movie. the soundtrack is the best ever. The Ramones, Suzi Quatro, Patti Smith, Pretenders, Robin Johnson, Roxy Music, XTC, Desmond Child & Rouge, The Cars (not included on the soundtrack), etc. This movie introduced me to New Wave and punk. There are so many neat scenes in the movie: - The seduction - non-verbal with only Ramones singing "I Wanna Be Sedated - of Pammy by Nicky to leave the hospital. - The card game on the street "You snooze you lose" - Running through the adult theater. - The hilarious hold-up - Dropping TVs to The Cars' "Dangerous Type" - "Your Daughter Is One" - Any scene with Tim Curry - "Life, more than Television."

• Both performances of "Damn Dog" - "Hit me again, you're a big man" - Pammy dancing to Lou Reed's Take A Walk On The Wild Side.

• Waking up to Suzi Quatro's "Rock Hard". - Tim Curry dancing to "Rock Hard" - "I may be brave but you're the pretty one. I'm a freak of f**king nature"

• Pammy dancing to Desmond Child & Rouge's "The Night Was Not". - Tim Curry's poetry. - The Sleaze Sisters and their imitators wearing trash bags.

• The opening credits to Roxy Music's "Same Old Scene"

• Stealing the ambulance and getting away with it. - "M-e-t-h-o-d-i-s-t- e-p-i-s-c-o-p-a-l" "Take a p*** you a**hole"

Do I love this movie or what?

Trini Alvarado meets Robin Johnson when they are both at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for psychiatric assessment. They break out together and camp out in the ruins docks on the North River, and hang around Times Square, writing letters to radio personality Tim Curry and evading Miss Alvarado's father, Peter Coffield, who is in charge of the Times Square revival.

It's an erratic movie that doesn't seem to go anywhere, and the two women are an odd match, but the movie has a tremendous energy, powered by the on-site shooting and the quirky camerawork of James Contner. Director Allan Moyle would have a hit with many of the same themes with PUMP UP THE VOLUME.

I watched the whole movie on YouTube and thought this is actually really entertaining. The critics complained about it being overblown. I disagree... The script is a bit patchy in places, same with the direction, but I've seen a lot worse, believe me. The soundtrack was what made this movie, it was fantastic. I prefer classical music, but this music was good because of the content and it was catchy.

The performances were really good also. Tim Curry is really cool as Johnny LaGuardia, who sort of succumbs to a change of heart. One minute he is all wild, then he is comforting Pamela. The girl who played Pamela was also convincing, though not as good as her co-star Robin Johnson, who was easily the best actress in the movie. Their scenes while corny at times were on the most part touching. When Nicki suffers a breakdown, I had tears in her eyes, because she was so convincing. Why is she no longer acting?

One thing that gets me mad, Why is the rating so low? It isn't actually that bad. Sure it mayn't be to everyone's taste but it is definitely the most underrated of the 1980s movies.

7/10 in respect to the players. Bethany Cox (I wish I could give it higher but I've only seen it once)

People who love:

• depictions of New York City's Times Square (and New York City, for that matter) as gritty-as-you please and before it was remade as a family theme park

• Tim Curry (see him here as a late-night radio DJ speaking to nocturnal urban denizens in verse from the center of Times Square)

• movies about youthful rebellion that are half tongue-in-cheek

will get a kick out of this movie. I recommend it, especially if you don't require that you grow spiritually or expand your vocabulary every time you invest 90 minutes in a movie.