Sunset Strip

My review was written after watching the movie on Vestron video cassette.

"Sunset Strip" is another lame attempt at a thriller geared to the glamorous sleaziness of Hollywood street life (or at least its reputation). Filmed in the summer of 1984, feature is being released directly to home video, bypassing U. S. theatrical (as have filmmaker William Webb's previous efforts).

Opening with some unimpressive and instantly dated breakdancing footage, picture toplines Tom Eplin and Mark Jeffrson, a young still photographer with a fancy motorbike who agrees to help pal Roger Lucas (John Mayall), whose music club is being threatened by strong-arm men who he thinks want to take it over and use it as a front for prostitution. Ruthless baddie John Moran (Danny Williams) has his goons kill a girl in the opening reel to show they mean business. His real goal is to use the club to front his operations for selling guns to youngsters.

With various chase scenes as filler, the film plods along to a happy ending, as Jefferson gets evidence against the bad guys and uncovers a corrupt cop. Along the way, Lucas and others are kille, but Jefferson manages to save his cute ex-girlfriend who sings at the club, Carol (Cheryl Cameron Newell).

Minus suspense or interesting detailing, film is limp. Leads Eplin and Newel are attractive in their walk-through assignments, while legendary British bluesman John Mayall has little to do in a small role. Tech credits are competent.

In the first couple minutes of the film, there's a theft, a kidnapping, and a murder. This Sunset Strip is a dangerous place! We can tell it's an older film, since it's before the helmet law, and the bubble-letter credits. So many long pauses, and when one actor is done... the others wait too long before they start speaking. Editing problem? Or just less than stellar acting? There were warning signs on this one... very few actors in the cast list on imdb have a photo with their name, and only 85 votes and 2 reviews as of today. And this has been out for 35 years! It's bad. Everyone over-acts, over reacts. Bad timing. Bad editing. It's just bad all over. Skip it. Now we know why it was on the free movie channel.... written and directed by william webb. Oh, Mark and his friends are trying to save a club from being taken over by someone. I guess that's the plot.

This film screams the 80's in nearly every way! The downside is that from the looks of this movie there was very little budget. Well, from the sound of this movie there was very little budget as we generic 80's songs aplenty that sound downright awful! At times the horrid soundtrack drowns out the movie making this thing ear bleed inducing bad! The main girl sings in a club and someone should really get her to reconsider because she definitely does not have what it takes to make it in L.A.!

The story, a dude photographs break dancers for a living or something while having sex with his landlords because he cannot pay the bills. A woman is murdered and the owner of the club needs this photographer to take pictures of a seedy transaction in an alley and it all becomes a frame job! Soon the photographer is walking in L.A., no wait, only a nobody walks in L.A., he is running through L.A. and the L.A. Gear store to get away from thugs who chase him in front of plenty of witnesses, but the cops still suspect him! He soon finds help in Turquoise, the friendly call girl and gets help from his buddy Jake, but the villain of this piece will stop at nothing to get the club...well, except offer to buy it or simply open another club.

The film is quite fun at times, in a bad way as we get such long chases and stupid moves by the movies 'hero'. The chases also get tedious as do the multitude of phone calls placed within the running time of this thing! The best parts of the film are when the villain gets a call in his club and a random topless girl can be seen in the background shaking her boobies!

It is not a horrible film and it has its moments, but most of the moments are the unintentionally funny stuff being presented. You will know what the bad guys are after even when the hero and his girl don't. Long stretches of driving and such will make you wish for the strange break dancing duo at the beginning of the film whose radio is stolen though.