Shoplifters of the World

As both a bit of a film buff and an obsessive Smiths fan of 35 years, I kinda knew this film would be bad - how could it live up to any expectations? And yes it was terrible but I kinda loved it too. It was awfully cliched - so many lines lifted from smiths songs which as a 17 year old I might have found clever. It was clearly written and directed with love but probably a University thesis - in the hands of a Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith anyone?) it would have been a masterpiece. As it was I forgave it for its insufferable moments and enjoyed the music. I have no doubt that its heart was in the right place and that will do for me. I guess it's like watching a bad smiths cover band. You know you're gonna clench your teeth but you'll still relive some of the magic of your youth.

If The Smiths were not the soundtrack to your life, at best this will be a. John Hughes-inspired 80's flashback film about that group of friends in the waning days of high school lamenting their future without each other.

If however your life made much more sense once you discovered Morrissey and Johnny and every coy twisted lyric that made you feel better about yourself and the world we live in, this is the movie that will make you laugh and cry and remind you that you are not alone, you were never alone and how at the worst of times, you can still sing your life.

This loving and respectful homage to everything The Smiths, with layers of references done in a period-piece style, should probably have been made decades earlier... but is well worth the wait.

Thank you to the entire team who gave this gift to those of us who will watch it over and over again.

Life before internet... before social media... WAS fun.

This review is more about the style of the 80s in this movie, from the POV of a '88 grad GenX deeply into the alternative music scene.

Writing this partially in response to a review stating no one dressed like Madonna. Yes, we did dress like Madonna, granted not as closely emulated as in this film. That said, the film itself wasn't great, but the (underdeveloped) characters were fun. Except Cleo. Ugh! The stereotypes were exaggerated but it was nice to see a Robert Smith lookalike because, yes, there were always a few of those dudes roaming the halls in high school, as well.

As for replicating the 80s, it was hit or miss. Cleo's makeup was too contemporary (Instagram model soft, blended eyeshadow? Please.), while others, including the extras, were authentically wearing heavy black eyeliner and frizzed out hair.

Side note - as an Aquanet devotee, that was NOT an 80s style container. We really did carry those in our purses, but they had big white click on lids on a perfectly cylindrical can. That was a modern can of hairspray. Annoying!

I'll admit though, watching for inaccuracies was pretty fun, and along with the soundtrack, the best part of the movie.

But i watched the movie anyway.i got what i expected. A thin plot built around "true intentions", lol. But the music was enough to get me thru it, just as the Smiths got me thru the 80's. As clunky and forgettable as the plot was, the music and the record store and references took me back to a sacred time in my life when music meant everything and saved my soul. For that, i thank the filmmakers.