Very well executed

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Like many reviewers on this film I first saw "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains" on late night cable in the mid 80's. I loved the music as I was just digging Punk and getting into New Wave. The more adult themes went over my head but I got the gist - the conflict between men and women in the music business and how media can build up and tear down stars.I had wanted to see the film again but until 2008 it was still only available if it were shown on TV or if someone had a copy from a previous TV showing. The studio finally released a DVD of a restored print and I fell in love with it all over again.Diane Lane, 15 at the time, plays the leader of The Stains, "Third Degree" Burns. Laura Dern, 13 at the time, plays Third Degree's cousin and bassist "Peg". The British punk band The Stains hang out on tour with is made up of members of the Sex Pistols and The Clash and fronted by Ray Winstone. Fee Waybill of The Tubes plays a hasbeen metal band singer. Christine Lahti, who plays Lane's Aunt and Dern's mother, kills in the two short scenes she's in. Other notable cast members are David Clennon, Cynthia Sikes, Elizabeth Daily, and an uncredited Brent Spiner. The film was directed by Lou Adler who had directed "Up in Smoke" and was written by Nancy Dowd who had written "Slap Shot".Diane Lane shows once again her raw untrained talent in only her 3rd film at the time. Laura Dern also looks natural in her role. Along with Lahti, Waybill also turns in a great performance.The film does a good job of showing one part of the rough and tumble music business before the MTV era. It's rough around the edges with some cringe worthy scenes and stiff dialog but overall it makes its gritty point about the nature of show business and the media and about gender roles. The happy ending that was filmed 2 years after initial filming fits in that it reminded me of the rise of the group "The Go-Go's" They had started in the punk scene and moved into the new MTV scene and got the same make over "The Stains" get in the final scene.The film has reached cult status not only from the late night cable showings and lack of a previous home release but also because it influenced future women singers most notably Courtney Love.As noted before the film is jagged but Lou Adler made sure the music was as polished as possible to be heard. That of course is what is important - the music and the message.*Side Note* If you are an "Old Fart" now and want to reminisce about the film and the time of the story, listen to the commentary by Diane Lane and Laura Dern on the DVD. They were a bonus and added to the value of the disc.

Like Eve in "All About Eve", Corrine "3rd Degree" Burns is on a mission to stardom. She's not especially talented, but she's on fire with rage, rebellion, a cunning desire and a sense of meta-betrayal that strikes a chord in her fellow teen girls.She parlays a television interview into a club gig with her band of two cousins and herself, two rehearsals under their belt and a trunk full of costumes. The girls can barely play and the cousins leave the stage in defeat. Corrine (Diane Lane) doesn't however. She plays the audience and everyone else as she switches personae and stances. She seems to reveal herself as the young vulnerable but twice in the pic, - in opening herself up to singer Billy, (Ray Winstone) of headlining band the "Looters" and to her agent and quickly regretting returns to her hard-edged persona.The character comes alive in Lane's hands and this lifts this movie out of the general mass of rock movies. The cast lends solid support and it helps that all the musicians are played by musicians. The music is right too.

SpoilersThis movie written, by Nancy Dowd, who is identified a Rob Morton in the movie credit, had strong philosophical statements. For example: "The thing is man, be yourself, because if you're not yourself, you're nobody." "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." "Come see me and come live with me are two different things" "You're just another girl, lining up to die. Sucker! Suckers! Suckers! Be yourself!" I felt this should have gotten a lot more notoriety. The only place to see this was on late night cable (It was never was on VHS, and it was only in a handful of movie theaters). The anger throughout this movie, the fact that one rock group gets famous stealing another rock groups song, little girls wearing see through blouses and the naked lovemaking scene between a 15 year old girl and a 23 year old man in the shower, may have caused the shelving of this movie for decades. When I watched this movie in the 80's I had never seen anything else with Diane Lane and as a result, I thought Diane was a very angry young (15 year old) lady who sings and was really into her rock music. Years later most of us know her to be anything but an angry rock singer, which also tells you that she is a great actress and played this part well. The songs and music are forgettable, except I did like the reggae song "Moving", which is worth a listen. That song first plays when they are on the tour bus and they leave Charlestown, Pennsylvania. Diane Lane and Laura Dern's comments about the movie on the DVD are worth listening to. This movie has inspired several all female rock groups, like "Bikini Kill" and it developed a strong following. Therefore, it finally, was released to the public on DVD. But consider it can take six weeks to get a copy of it, so you may just want to rent it. It is worth a view. Go ahead and see why it is a considered a cult classic.

There is something about this movie that makes me think that it is one of the best as well as the worst films ever made. A side of me doesn't make me wonder as to why the studio execs never wanted to release this even as a slight cult-fringe film. It isn't that. It is not a cult-fringe film. I see this as a film where in a fine and precious moment in the early 80's there was a time when the 80's was defining itself. It was kicking in the teeth of the 70's and 60's with vigor. It pulls itself off and doesn't do so without kicking it's in own teeth as well. Believe it or not there is optimism. Check it out just for the sake of checking it out. It is worth it,Loved the mall scene!!