Pretty Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The 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.

If you've always suspected that combining elements from "Times Square" (1980), "Josie and the Pussycats" (2001), and "Summer of '42" (1971) would be an extremely bad idea, look no further than "Satisfaction" for confirmation. Although "Times Square" fans (the film from which "Satisfaction" steals the most) will frequently cringe during the viewing experience, the fusion of these three films is not a totally bad idea. It did give Trini Alvarado, eight years later, a chance to play the tough girl Nicky Marotta part, the character she played against in "Times Square". Although she plays her less like Robin Johnson did and more like Tara Reid's Cybil in "Girl" (1998). An underrated actress, Alvarado carries too much baggage (nice girl type-casting and too sweet a face) into this role to even begin to sell it. A much better idea that might have saved the film would have been for her and co-star Justin Bateman to switch parts. Bateman is capable of looking mean and is really too limited as an actress for a part with the degree of dimensionality of Jennie Lee. I've never quite grasped the popularity of Julia Roberts but for her mega-fans "Satisfaction" is a must see. The script doesn't give her much to work with but it is an opportunity to see her when she was this young. Of course there is some retrospective perverse amusement to be had at the idea of Roberts and Liam Neeson playing second banana's to the talent challenged Bateman, Britta Phillips' career rocketed forward from this film with 65 episodes as the voice of the title character in "Jem and the Holograms". Nice voice, excellent casting choice, and a cute performance; she and Chris Nash at least manage to give a fair amount of authenticity to the production. Director Joan Freeman of Streetwalkin' (1985) fame has never done another feature; after these casting decisions it is not hard to figure out why. Maybe she is just another innocent victim of an Aaron Spelling production, she clearly was not a budding Allan Moyle. Likewise Screenwriter Charles Purpura; although his script is no worse than a lot of stuff currently getting feature treatment and the outdated slang no doubt sounded less lame in 1988. Although full of terrible music (covers of classic rock tunes performed slightly worse than when arranged for your high school band's halftime show) the film did connect with its primary target audience, discontented teenage girls who were not so disillusioned that they could not still get off on an identification jag with a group of squeaky clean girl rockers. Those looking for a more real "growing up is painful " experience should stick with "Times Square" and the more recent "Pretty Persuasion". Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.Comment | Permalink

I 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.

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