I happened upon this movie recently while my girlfriend was watching BET. She remembered the movie from her childhood and wanted to give it another viewing for the sake of nostalgia.
I was immediately stunned to see Ving Rhames saucing around in drag. Oh my. I actually thought it was an offbeat comedy of sorts. Apparently, it's not, and that's what totally captivated me.
Every scene is played for sheer drama, and just about every scene had me howling with laughter. I've recommended this to many of my friends who are big fans of MST3K and unintentionally funny movies, in general, and every single one of them has been blown away. It's pure gold.
The movie has a very low-budget, Hallmark or Lifetime Network look and feel. I believe it was probably made for a cable network though because it does have a little bit of strong language. It has some top-shelf talent on-board as well: Ving Rhames, Alfre Woodard, and Mykelti Williamson (doesn't ring a bell? Think "shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich")! The young girl, Jesika Reynolds, is beyond cute, and a serviceable enough actress, but just not really charismatic and plays her cues virtually flat. Mykelti actually does a fine job with what he had to work with, but Ving and Alfre and a few other cast members totally make up for it though, just chewing the scenery like Tasmanian Devils at each new scene.
The story is meant to be a very serious drama, and is a very sad tale of drug abuse, physical abuse, parental neglect and even worse. It's just portrayed such a corny, melodramatic and overacted way that I honestly can't see how anyone could take it seriously. I mean, it's got a lot of heart. Just no brains.
I guess tons of copies of this movie aren't around, because DVD copies out there consistently go for around $20+ on Amazon and eBay, but I kept a sharp eye out and finally grabbed one dirt cheap on ebay. The full movie can also be found on YouTube, if you don't mind watching it via the internet.
Some bad movies are just bad and not watchable. This one consistently entertaining at almost every second of its running time. I think about 1.5 or 2.5 stars out of 10 for it's intended purpose. I'd give about 10 Ed Wood flying saucers out 10 for it's unintentional entertainment value.