Shoplifters of the World

Your enjoyment of this film will probably depend on your awareness of the Smith's music. One of the best and most important bands to come out of England in the 1980s, but still (bizarrely) unknown by a lot of people. I personally enjoyed this film, but then I'm a big fan of the Smiths. I could pull the film apart and say it was a bit cheesy, a simplistic story, etc, but my enjoyment of the film and the music superseded all that. At the end of the day it's just nice to see this band get more recognition, especially in the 2020s.

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.

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.

A movie about hardcore fans of The Smiths aimed directly at hardcore fans of The Smiths.

People are either going to love or hate this film, I'm sure. I fall somewhere on the "loved it" side, but only just barely.

The first thing that you will notice is that there is an overuse of Smiths lyrics in almost every scene. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. Where it did work is when you don't sense it coming, and then it will make you smile. But where it did not work, I found myself cringing slightly, as the use of a lyric at that moment felt a bit too forced, even campy, and I got the feeling that maybe the actors themselves were cringing, too.

But lovers of The Smiths will appreciate all of the inside jokes and will probably enjoy this film much more than they will be willing to admit.

Try not to take this one too seriously, say, along the lines of a John Hughes film, which this movie seemingly aspires to be the antithesis of (you'll see what I mean during one particular scene).

I also really enjoyed all of the scenes between the heavy metal radio DJ and the obsessed Smiths fan hijacker and the eventual bonding that occurs

I'm giving this a much higher rating than it probably deserves, mainly because I'm a true Smiths fan and because we need more movies that explore the 80s and the music scenes of that era.