Foxes

 Foxes may be told through the viewpoint of Jodie Foster's character Jeanie, but the movie is about Cherie Currie's character Annie. Or, to be more exact, about Annie's impact on her group of friends. Annie is a self-destructive kid from a bad home. She drinks too much, does too many drugs, has too much sex, splits too often from her "good" friends to hang out with lowlifes. Her friends Jeanie, Madge and Dieidre try to help her and protect her from her seemingly psychotic and unquestionably abusive cop dad. The girls have a fantasy of getting their own place at 16, maybe opening a boutique. This is a fantasy that gets partial fulfillment, but thanks to Annie's recklessness this leads to the culminating events of the movie. Annie isn't the only one with issues, though. Deirdre is boy crazy, and desperately wants to be grown up. Madge is a virgin who hates that fact. She also has a secret relationship with an older man, which also factors into the events that lead to the story's ending. Then there's Jeanie, whose divorced mom (played by Hot Lips herself Sally Kellerman) is frustrated and desperate, leading her to jump into bed with married men and abandon her daughter when she calls her out on it. Her dad has a job with a rock band, which scores her free tickets when he's in town, but keeps him mostly absent. (The band is Angel, who were on Casablanca records, same as Donna Summer who dominates the soundtrack that was made by her producer Georgio Moroder. Considering that their two other big acts were on the soundtrack I'm a little surprised KISS didn't make it on there, especially given that posters of the band show up all through the movie.) 

The movie brought back a lot about what it was like being a teenager in pre-internet days. Unfortunately a lot of what it dredged up was not pleasant. It was the drama, the hormones, the irrational decisions, the feeling of helplessness in a world that often seems hostile. Scott Baio and Randy Quaid also have small but significant roles. Scott, still in his Chachi days on Happy Days, plays the kid who has a thing for Annie, and who her friends keep pushing her toward. But he's too much of a kid for her. Randy plays the older guy who is secretly dating 16 year old Madge. (Yeah pretty skeezy, but the movie plays it off as being sweet instead, barely acknowledging the ick factor.)  A lot happens in this movie, so that trying to sketch the plot could easily devolve into "and then, and then... And it is a bit of an "and then" movie, moving from sequence to sequence, but managing to tell an overall story at the same time. Sadly the story is about how the lives of four 16 year old girls are falling apart, until a final tragedy gets them back on track. (Not all of them, but I want to avoid spoilers no matter that the movie is almost 25 years old at this point.)

The movie is definitely gritty, with the air seeming to have a constant haze of smoke even in the few times when no one is smoking (something that rings true with my experience growing up in the 80's). There is the random and almost arbitrary violence that sometimes comes with being a kid, but the worst is when it comes from Annie's dad at the beginning of the movie. There is a lot of shrieking and crying from Madge and her mom. There is a lot of parental neglect from most of the other parents. Sally Kellerman's character has her own little arc that takes place, but she is never someone who is going to qualify as mom of the year. Cherie Currie is very convincing during the scenes where she is drugged out and barely conscious (one suspects that her years as singer for the band The Runaways gave her a lot of experience to draw from). Randy Quaid can't quite keep the crazy out of his performance. And then there's the ending. The movie is a lot, and gives you a lot to process.

I almost forgot another actor who turns up, Robert Romanus. He is best known (by me at least) for being the ticket scalper in Fast Times At Ridgemont High who gets Jennifer Jason Leigh pregnant. Yes, this lucky guy got to kiss Jodie Foster then a couple of years later get naked with Jennifer Jason Leigh. He was living every 80's boy's (and some girls' no doubt) fantasy. There is another interesting connection with him. Years later Cherie Currie would write a movie based on her time in The Runaways. Romanus had a part in that movie. Jennifer Jason Leigh tried for a part in this movie (apparently the part of Annie which I absolutely cannot see her in). Someone else who tried for a part, Jodie Foster's brother Buddy. He was almost cast as Jeanie's love interest. Yes, Jeanie who was played by his sister Jodie. They put him in a different role instead, this movie being the only time the two worked together. I can't help but wonder if the idea was to get some free scandal publicity. After all the 80's were a weird time when people did a lot of crazy shit. And that is the main reason to watch this movie, to take a peek back into the 80's. There is a lot of drama and little to no comedy to lighten it up. But it's drama that rings true to what some kids were facing, and likely still face some version of today.