Justine Bateman was probably the primary pull, or point of interest for me - from 'Family Ties'. I saw this movie when I was younger (high school perhaps). I even made several attempts to locate/purchase the soundtrack. To this day, I still sing their version of 'Iko Iko'. I had no clue who Julia Roberts was at this time - but her character did stick with me. This movie is fun to go back and watch now, with all of its cast who have gone on to further their careers.
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hoshi_8227210 June 2003
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The rock-loving teens in this movie don't seem to know anything about making music. We get no information about their musical backgrounds, and their idea of jamming is to feign a version of "Iko Iko" while driving in their stolen van (I say 'feign' because the sound of their unison vocals is distinctly studio-enhanced). There's one guy in the otherwise all-girl band, and they make him sleep behind a sheet--out of modesty?--and yet the girls themselves are sexually active and think nothing of having sex in that van until the damn thing just about topples over. The movie wants to have it both ways: be a modern look at streetwise teens and yet also be an old-fashioned musical. Justine Bateman works hard in the leading role, but she seems to suffocate under the plastic handling; newcomer Julia Roberts shows off a nice sense of sarcastic humor, but the movie is an underachiever, with oldies-rock tunes given '80s makeovers that wouldn't pass muster on Star Search. ** from ****
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Not a good film by any stretch of the imagination. The storyline is a shocker and the acting is, at times, quite bad. However, seeing Julia Roberts and Liam Neeson in early roles before they were big stars makes it worthwhile. The one redeeming feature about this mess is the dog! He is so cute! But Justine Bateman is just awful, can't sing, can't act and can't talk properly. It's no wonder her big stardom has been confined to Family Ties.
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Some people will calls this film a chick flick, I prefer to say it is geared for a teenage women audience. With this in mind I fould it awful. Too sappy, predictable and reminds me of the low budget Bartell Drive inn movies. The all girl band headed out too the beach is toooo predictable. Their characters at best get across as cardbord. The tough girl etc. Even for an escapist movie, where the viewer turn his or her brain off, this film's script is too thin. I watched this with my wife late night, and could not care less for the conclusion. I left not really wanting to know about what happens too the band, or their love interest. For a film I found soaps have better wrighting. This film probably was done quick, on the cheap and it shows. Stay away unless your only other choice is Isthar at the video store. 3 Out of 10
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CitizenCaine11 April 2004Julia Roberts made her first credited film appearance in this late 80's girl band movie. Four girls and a token guy, a geeky one at that, travel to a beach coast roadhouse to be the summer house band. When the owner takes a liking to them, they could be headed for Europe where his friend can set the girls up. Are you kidding me? These girls don't sound good enough for that kind of opportunity. The girl band is headed by Family Ties girl: Justine Bateman on lead vocals; Britta Phillips is on lead guitar; Julia Roberts is on bass; Trini Alvarado is on drums. They all seem to have been cast with big hair in mind, popular in the late 80's. Scott Coffey is the token male on keyboards. The girls are all different clichéd types: Phillips is the simpleton stoner with an over-abundance of brainless comments; Roberts is the slut girl supposedly; Alvarado is the tough girl that falls for geeky Coffey! Of course that would never happen in real life. Bateman's character isn't fleshed out enough for us to know how to identify with her. She comes off as street savvy, but then melts into Liam Neeson's arms. He plays the club owner where the girls stay for the summer, and he is far too old for someone of Bateman's ilk, as portrayed in this movie. I didn't really believe he was ever that interested in her. The subplot about the guy gang is ludicrous and serves no purpose. The 80's synthesizer bridging music is annoying at times. Deborah Harry, of Blondie fame, has a cameo as sort of an acquaintance of Neeson's. The film has a couple of funny moments, but is mostly forgettable. Watch it only if you have nothing better to do, like washing your big hair. * of 4 stars.
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kjenkins22 February 2003Come a long way since Family Ties to this movie where her abilities in winning a crowd with her musical motion that rivals that of almost any in the rock/wiggle world today.
The rest of the cast is excellent, Julia Roberts is a ray of sunshine, and Liam is superior as usual, but the Big Ticket is Justine. I found myself wanting to get her next rock video, and not even knowing if she had one. If you are debating which coming of age girl movie, which music movie, which overcoming love flick to view . . . this is the premier choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to credits.
The ONLY sad point about this movie is that it is only available on VHS -- not DVD. :-( Enjoy -
alansmithee0424 April 2004One thing I would like to do before I die is find out who it was that told Justine Bateman she could sing and slap that person into a coma.
If this stunningly mediocre attempt at a "teen comedy" didn't actually kill the subgenre it at least delivered it a mortal wound. It looks like it was filmed through a dung lens and sounds like it was written by a team of gently retarded clams. And what Hollywood studio cretin thought Liam Neeson and Justine Bateman would be a good romantic pair? I've seen more sparks coming from a thoroughly wet sparkler!
Lets see, in "Satisfaction" we've got the usual group of teen girl stereotypes with Julia Roberts in her first credited roll as Daryle, (the Loose Girl), Trini Alvarado as Mooch (the Tough Girl) and Britta Phillips as Billy (the Crazy Girl). Throw them into a retreaded plot from "Where The Boys Are" and set it all on the ugliest beach on either coast and you've got a good idea what this mess is like.
Or better yet, just hit yourself in the face with a cookie sheet for 92 minutes. Gah! -
fechka-126 August 2005So this is not one of the best movies from the '80s, but it made a big impact on me because of Julia Roberts. I thought she was so cool, and I copied a lot of my fashion styles after her character in the movie (big hair and all). Being a child of the '80s I've been slowly collecting many of the classic comedies, and this one has been on my list for a while. So when I discovered last month that it was finally coming out on DVD and at a great price, I pre-ordered my copy. It has some really good moments and good one-liners, like when Julia Roberts' character, Daryle is told by one of the preppy guys she's seeing "You're different from the other girls", she responds "I can work really hard to be the same", or when Daryle is explaining to Billy that getting married is a natural thing, Billy responds "Dying is natural too, but you don't see people rushing to do that". So if you want to take a trip back to the '80s or if you're a Julia Roberts fan, this movie is for you.
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TheDrizzle7717 August 2009I was pretty sure, when I saw that Liam, Julia and Justine Bateman in a movie together, it was going to be somewhat decent. Well much to my chagrin. This movie was like a two way portal, ala some violent mirror in which I saw myself poking my eyes out with icepicks through the television screen to stop the pain.
Justine was just awful at singing, the Benny Hill, fast forward scene at the beach just made me cringe from head to toe and every concert scene was just.....well, can you guess the remorseful, disgusting feelings I have towards this movie.
I sat through this, I climbed this treacherous journey from the base camp to the pinnacle on a mountain from hell, so you don't have too. Take it from me, and where I came from. This movie will make you feel like a new asshole. It will give you a disease you never know existed. Please resist and refrain from watching this movie. I BEG YOU ALL. -
maximenigma23 December 2011Yes, the movie treats things like stealing and drugs too lighthearted. Nothing the girls do has any severe consequence on them or others. But this movie doesn't even attempt to have depth. It's just about leaning back, enjoying some good music and Liam Neeson's Irish accent. I enjoyed watching it more than I would have expected from IMDb's average rating, and I got to like all of the main characters. After all, the quality of this movie is still much higher than more recent teenage comedies in the likes of American Pie which only make jokes about sex or disgusting things. It's not the kind of movie I would watch many times, but I recommend everyone to watch it once who likes to see a teenage comedy without American Pie humour.
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JohnSeal18 March 2009Call me a glutton for punishment. I've now seen this wretched rock fantasy three times, and think I can safely call it a day after this. Bluntly, there is nothing remotely believable about Satisfaction. For starters, why would a group of rockin', freshly graduated from high school in 1988 girls spend their day playing old R&B numbers? I can buy them performing the titular Stones number, and C'mon Everybody is virtually impossible to ruin, but the cowbell-driven take on Knock on Wood is awful and the reggae-rific version of Mr. Big Stuff is a joke (and that joke just isn't funny anymore). Only some very powerful psychotropics could possibly convince anyone that Justine Bateman's Liam Neeson accompanied rendition of Dedicated to the One I Love is the future of rock and roll. And please--when was the last time an all-covers band was mooted for a European tour? Has that ever happened? I guess it's nice that Elvis Costello collects a royalty check every time Satisfaction plays on TV (the girls butcher Mystery Dance mid-movie), but that's not much compensation for what is otherwise a thoroughly awful film. Awful, awful, awful!
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I haven't seen this in ages but I can tell you, as a teen I watched it over and over and over. I'm not sure how it would hold up to new viewers, though. It's a really fun film about a girl band trying to "make it" and facing all the dilemmas that can pop up when a bands just starting to get a feel for themselves and their music. Each member has a unique personality that really meshes in a fun way. I hope they issue this one out on DVD at some point because I'll be first in line to purchase.
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djcollins323 October 2005I'm a sucker for all music/group oriented movies since I played in a band since I was 14. I am now 55 and don't play anymore but I dream. This one is definitely not in the class of "The Commitments" but it is MUSIC and it is FUN.
My wife did not believe me that that was Julia Roberts in the movie but I checked IMDb and proved it. Justine Bateman may have been a ditz in Family Ties but does a credible job as the band leader in this movie.
The other attraction is the beach venue. I live on the east coast and Myrtle Beach South Carolina is the home of Beach Music including " The Shag" -
edwagreen25 January 2010The best part of this awful film is when the ending credits are rolling and you hear the band playing and singing the title song.
Trouble is that the film is anything but good. 4 teenage girls and a young guy embark on a summer of fun when they land a job playing as a band at a beach resort. One girl is an orphan, but nothing is said about the other teens' parents. They just hop in a van and go.
We have what could fall into a beach blanket movie with singing,gaiety, an attempted suicide and a romance between Justine Bateman and Liam Neeson, a widowed song writer who shall we say has a lot on his mind.
Of course, Neeson likes the band so much that he wants them to defer school and go rock in Europe.
I added the extra 1/2 star since the film did end correctly, that is, that school comes first. Unfortunately, this film comes in last. -
mav5600130 June 2019Most of it was filmed in Isle of Palms, S.C. I should know, not only was I there, but I was in the movie......
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helpless_dancer19 April 2002Think of everything that could be wrong with a film, triple these things, cover them with a coat of raw sewage then set them on fire and you will have a piece of charbroiled pigslop called "Satisfaction". Tepid, low rent comedy dealing with 4 simpering teen rocker wannabe girls and their dorked out boyfriend. I figure the actors had a better time making this bilge than anybody could ever have watching it. If Jagger were dead [and watching this drivel could very well have led to his demise] he'd be permanently spinning in his expensive English casket. Gad!
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capone66616 November 2015Satisfaction
The difference between male and female rock-stars is that women form meaningful relationships with their groupies.
However, the songstress in this drama has developed feelings for a nightclub owner.
The minute high school is over Jennie (Justine Bateman) and her band The Mystery (Julia Roberts, Britta Phillips, Trini Alvarado) head to Florida in a stolen van to audition for Martin Falcon (Liam Neeson), a bar owner in need of performers for the summer.
While they get the position, over the summer the band starts to drift apart as some members fall in love with locals and others overdose on drugs.
Everything calumniates when the owners of the stole van show up.
Produced by Aaron Spelling, Satisfaction has all of the earmarks of the successful television show creator but for some reason those elements do not elevate this mediocre musical misadventure.
Interestingly enough, all-girl house bands boast the lowest bar tabs.
Red Light
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sundialpictures-0165717 February 2019All of the elements for a fun band musical are there, but something went awry in either the editing bay or the script development. It just feels like there are whole scenes missing, scenes that would have fleshed out the characters and given us more time to get to know and care about them. There are glimmers of that here and there (for instance, there's a nice scene between the band's keyboardist and the drummer when they're first falling in love, but it's never followed up again, we never see that subplot develop at all). We're basically given the cliff notes version of what could have been a decent-ish two hour movie or maybe it would've been better served as a dramedy television series (those were gaining popularity around the time this came out).
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pchristle4 May 2017Well, a rock'n'roll movie rarely has a viable plot, and this one is no exception. But who watches a rock movie for the plot? We watch for the music and for all the beautiful young people. The band members in Satisfaction are great looking, to be sure. The movie itself is worth seeing just to enjoy Justine Bateman's performance as the lead singer. She kills "Knock on Wood," "Lies," and "Satisfaction," among others. Additionally, Britta Phillips does a great job with "Mr. Big Stuff." It's rock'n'roll.
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SnoopyStyle20 December 2017Recent graduate Jennie Lee (Justine Bateman) is the lead singer of her band Mystery. Mooch (Trini Alvarado) is the drummer. Billy (Britta Phillips) is the wild lead guitarist. Bassist Daryle (Julia Roberts) gets a marriage proposal. The girls are trying to play at the beach for the summer. Their pianist is in jail and Jennie picks up classical pianist neighbor Nickie (Scott Coffey). They audition and get a gig at producer Martin Falcon (Liam Neeson)'s beach nightclub. The songs are standards. The performing is functional. Having a real musician helps but they are generally limited. It's amazing to see Roberts and Neeson as well as 80's stars Bateman and Alvarado. The plot is straight forward and bland. The writing is relatively weak. The acting is functional. If this is a star vehicle for Bateman, it needs a tune up. She never could make that jump from TV to movies.
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Amanda_The_Geek2 July 2002I've always loved this silly romp of a film, and thought that no one else knew of it's existence! I first discovered my, now ratty looking, copy on the rental shelves of my parents convenience store when I was 13, and I still love it to this day. Perhaps my opinion is a bit biased, because I basically own every 80's teen buddy movie (I had a huge black and white Breakfast Club poster hanging in my dorm room this year, and received quite a bit of teasing for it). Maybe my dated tastes don't belong in this ultra modern world, but how could anyone not love these types of movies? Trini Alvadrado's and Britta Phillip's performances really impressed me, Scott Coffey was just plain adorable, Liam Neeson was a great casting choice (very dry and sarcastic in his opening scenes, he really should keep making comedies), and personally, I found Julia Roberts far more amusing in this film than anything else she's famous for! Justine Bateman's acting was a bit melodramatic at times, but it's an otherwise small flaw in this hidden gem. I used to perform quite a bit growing up, and no other movie has allowed me to indulge in my "adolescent rock and roll fantasies" quite like this one. A 7 out of 10
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gradyharp2 December 2006SATISFACTION is not a great movie by any shakes, but taken for what it was meant to be - a slightly naive tale of a girls' band that has a summer of adventure, love and opportunity for the big time nut opts instead to become just a group of life-long friends - it is a well done bit of pastiche. Thanks to the simple script by Charles Purpura and to the sensitive direction of Joan Freeman the little story works well.
The interesting aspect of the film is the cast. The band consists of leader Justine Bateman with Trini Alvarado, Britta Phillips, Scott Coffey as the token male, Deborah Harry and yes, the movie debut of Julia Roberts! Liam Neeson serves as the love interest for Justine Bateman's character and Michael DeLorenzo has a small part, too. The music is fun and the cast commits to the idea of the film well. Strange to see a film from 1988 with the established stars disappearing and the 'newcomers' taking flight. Grady Harp -
omolara-doyle24 October 2006I first watched it in 89 when I was a preteen. Just saw it again on DVD and still think it's pretty awesome. DVD picture quality isn't the greatest but all that teen angst is awesome and Justine Bateman still rocks. Was a bit surprised to see Julia Roberts who I had no recollection of but Liam Neeson is probably the reason I ended up living in Europe. That accent!!
I'd definitely recommend it if you just want to kick back, relax. Watch some big 80s hair and funny girl band stuff. The other cast members are pretty cool too although not as memorable. Couldn't get over Julia Roberts in this movie dressed similarly to the way she was dressed in Pretty Woman.
I loved it and definitely recommend it for feel good flash backs. -
Julia being in this movie makes it worth watching,but if are not a fan of one of the main actors/actresses then don't bother. I admit I am a fan of Miss Roberts and would eventually like to see all her movies( with the exception possibly of Firehouse), but truly this movies really isn't worth much unless your are a fan of the stars.