Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984) User Reviews (7)

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[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 22 July 2007]

This underground Indie trash classic is a razor sharp, wacky, furious, lurid low-rent teens dreaming of the goods, and finding out it comes at a price on the dynamic and raw punk scene. The pulpy story has a striking individuality to it, although the narrative is downright messy. But this erratic style and all attitude embrace, gave it an authentic and sincere feel of someone who was comfortable and enthusiastic of what they were doing. It was like a group friends got together, and it actually was. David Markey's flexible handling of the film is rough, gritty and amateurish. Jerky editing, smoggy photography (shot on super 8) and husky sound, but still it was perfectly edgy, surreal and fearless in its depiction. It's always on the move, and settling in was an alarmingly dark vibe and scathing look of the quick rise and fall involved in fame business. Many inspired and charming spur of the moment scenes fill the short, spirited running time. The bogus script with its blunt and morbid dialogue was always a hoot, and the over-the-top performances (with Steve McDonald's sleazy manager and Tracy Lea's venomous rival band leader taking the cake) were tatty, but enticingly vivid with their variety of character portrayals. Hilary Rubens, Jennifer Schwartz and Janet Housden colourfully played the three hopefuls (Bunny, Patch and Kitty) of the punk band Teenage Lovedolls. Some profound L.A. punk musicians also got minor parts in the film. Running throughout were pop culture references, parodies and sly in-jokes on the random scene that engulfed LA at the time. Shifting in with a burning, ultra-grungy soundtrack was the Red Kross, White Flag, Darkside and Nip Drivers to name a few, and also included were some pretty neat cover songs of classic rock tunes.

A lively splash of purely bold, senseless and outrageous campy fun, which breezes by in no time and looked like it was made with the spare change that was found in the bottom of their pockets. Hell of a good time.

P.s Nice cover artwork for DVD too.

"Thanks for killing my mom, man..."

[bean_invaders · 5/10 · 28 July 2003]

This is a campy little movie that looks like a person afflicted with Parkinson's disease shot most of it; a corny punk trash flick that follows the rise to fame and fortune of the all-girl teen band the Lovedolls. Chock full of SHOCKING and OUTRAGEOUS behavior, hilariously bad acting, and a pretty good 80's punk soundtrack.

There are many priceless bits that make this film a lot of fun for anyone who's a fan of cheesy flicks. Highly recommended for lovers of bad movies!

Desperate Teenage Lovedolls

[RaulFerreiraZem · 4/10 · 30 November 2022]

If you went as far as getting to know this film even exists then i think it is safe to assume that you will enjoy it to some extent. It is, as one would imagine, quite bad. The acting is really god awful, the two main girls are really really bad, and have little charisma. The writing is pretty nothing, even if at times it can be funny. The photography is occasionally interesting, but for the most part it is quite standard home video level. The soundtrack can range from really nice to decent. What makes this one enjoyable though is knowing that it had such a close relationship with the LA punk scene at its arguable downfall. So when i looked at the girl gang that got into a fight with the love dolls i saw them as ACTUAL local punk kids and that by itself was entertaining to me as i've been listening to those bands since i was 10 or so but never had any kind of connection to this era. So to sum it all up. The film is kind of boring but to me it was nice just to see the general vibe of the LA punk kids in 84 also i would like to point that the choice for Steve McDonald for the glam looking rich corporate dude was really funny for me.

Micro-budget classic

[sexy_dancer · 9/10 · 2 December 2005]

Desperate Teenage Lovedolls is one of the great unheralded no-budget movies. It deserves to be put on a shelf with Jim Van Bebber's Deadbeat At Dawn, Scooter McCrae's Shatter Dead, Buddy Giovinazzo's Combat Shock, and John Waters's Mondo Trasho. While not quite as extreme as any of those masterpieces, it has a curious naivety and punk-rock verve that makes it irresistible.

The story follows the rise & fall of a grrl punk rock band from the gutter to the stars and back. It features all the clichés - sleazy managers, drugs, murder, gang fights, Felix the cat, you name it. There's plenty of great punk rock on the soundtrack, and Redd Kross both back the Love Dolls and play roles in the movie.

The whole thing manages to wrap up in well over an hour, leaving us wanting more. Fortunately there's a sequel. I'm hoping for Part 3.

campy, edgy 1980's rock 'n' roll fun

[kirstymd · 8/10 · 19 April 2003]

This was a small gem of a bootleg VHS amongst friends in my teenage years (the mid-80's). Ultra-cool, campy story of a girl group playing ultra-cool rock 'n' roll. Funny as hell. Looked like someone's home movie with bad lighting, messy camera work, and often fuzzy sound, but who cared with such potent lines and a kick-ass soundtrack?

Supposedly the DVD is coming out next month... even if they haven't cleaned it up, it's better than most of the other so-called "musicals" of the 1980's.

Oh, and if I recall, there was a sequel that was pretty cool too.

A wonderfully rude, wild and raucous 80's punk rock riot

[Woodyanders · 10/10 · 14 December 2006]

Brassy lead singer Kitty (the adorable Jennifer Schwartz), spunky bass player Bunny (the equally cute Hilary Rubens) and feisty drummer Patch (the likewise attractive Janet Housden) are the hottie 18-year-old girl members of the scrappy all-female punk band the Lovedolls. The Lovedolls prove to be a fleeting flash-in-the-pan success; their fifteen minutes of fame are severely undermined by sleazy no-count heel manager Johnny Tremaine (deliciously overplayed to the sensationally slimy hilt by Steve McDonald) and the rival group the She Devils, a nasty bunch who are led by the spiteful and venomous Tania Heart (the splendidly snarky Tracy Lea). Technically, this fabulously flipped-out micro-budget underground indie cult favorite is extremely rough around the edges, with the sloppy storytelling, ragged editing, gritty, washed-out photography, crummy acting, lousy sound, and terrible lip-syncing all adding immensely to the movie's infectiously raw'n'ratty schlocky camp charm. Moreover, the often sidesplitting dialogue ("Thanks for killing my mom"), authentically grungy Los Angeles locations, the catchy, thrashy punk soundtrack (the Red Kross theme song in particular seriously smokes), the insanely eventful narrative, an excitingly vibrant depiction of the gnarly 80's punk scene, the hilariously lowbrow humor, the expected terrifically trashy clichés involving the dangers of sex and drugs (Johnny's nightmarish bad acid trip sequence is simply astonishing), colorfully wacky characters and an overall sense of gloriously gonzo go-for-it glee and gusto ensure that this beautifully berserk baby is a total rollicking blast of pure in-your-face impudent and irreverent 80's punk attitude and energy.