An action-packed slog

A lot of fun.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Sweet young innocent Jenny Williams (a perky and appealing performance by Linda Carol) finds herself incarcerated at a harsh juvenile detention facility where she runs afoul of both the vicious staff and predatory inmates alike. Writer/director Tom DeSimone relates the entertainingly trashy story at a zippy pace, maintains a perfectly campy and over-the-top tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and makes the most out of the blithely outrageous lowbrow humor by providing a wealth of hilarious lines and suitably grotesque caricatures. Moreover, it's acted with gusto by the enthusiastic cast: Legendary punk rocker Wendy O. Williams makes a strong impression with her sensationally snarly portrayal of formidable top con Charlie Chambliss, Pat Ast deliciously hams it up as monstrous head matron Edna, and Sybil Danning has a ball as the strict bible-quoting Warden Sutter, plus there are sturdy contributions from Sherri Stoner as timid and fragile teen runaway Lisa, Charlotte McGinnis as the compassionate Dr. Norton, Tiffany Helm as mean flunky Andrea 'Fish' Eldridge, Laurie Schwartz as the sarcastic Nicky, and Darcy DeMoss as the sassy Karen 'Knox' Charmin. Better still, DeSimone ably covers all the pleasingly sleazy babes-behind-bars bases: Tasty gratuitous female nudity, ferocious catfights, a sizzling group shower set piece (look fast for an uncredited Michelle Bauer in said shower scene), hot gals slinking about in skimpy lingerie, and a rousing climactic riot with the definite astounding highlight being when O. Williams commandeers a bus and stands on its roof as it speeds towards a watchtower. Both Howard Wexler's slick cinematography and Dan Siegel's robust melodramatic score are up to par. The cool rocking soundtrack likewise seriously smokes, with several of the songs sneered out by O. Williams (the theme song in particular is simply fantastic). An absolute wacky'n'tacky hoot.

While I am not hugely familiar with O'Williams' alternate metal-head band "The Plastmatics" from the former classic MTV days (a few songs were very good), she does her role here very well as Charlie the boarder-*itch. However, I was horribly unconvinced with Pat Ast as Matron Edna. Much of her acting was way overdone. Even Danning was more convincing in her supportive role as prison warden.The most laughable I considered was matron Edna's posterior "complete control". Way too many plot holes during those scenes.. which really only added to the comical ambiance of scenes anyway.The remaining supportive cast of school girls were very good, esp the one black gal (exact name I cannot locate) who befriends the Jenny. Overall it had its legit moments. The most annoying plot begot is the board meeting and latter with Dr. Norton addressing the abuses behind the scenes. Pat Ast should have been fired and her role recast she was so ridiculous in that scene.

"Don't just stand there, bring me something to wipe my shoe."I had never seen a "women in cages" movie prior to seeing this, so I really had no idea what to expect. Which is good, because no expectations could have prepared me for this, anyway. Reform School Girls is lurid, sordid, exploitative, pure cheese, and yes, even entertaining. If you can handle the absurdity of it all, anyway.The plot is paper thin (Othello, this is not). A young woman gets sent to a reform school/youth prison after a botched bank robbery, and tangles with the corrupt warden and head matron, as well as a gang of vicious girls. That's basically it. And there's lots of underwear. Basically, you probably already know if you like these kinds of movies, or you're a newbie like me. If you're unfamiliar with the genre, aren't easily offended, and have a fondness for campy/tongue-in-cheek absurdity, I suggest you try this out for the sheer novelty of it. I'll be seeing a few more, just to see if they can possibly get even more over-the-top than Reform School Girls.

Myself and a mate promptly decided to watch "Reform School Girls" upon seeing the trailer that advised all intellectual viewers – and I quote – to keep their criticism for themselves...or else we'll nail your tongues to the floor. Subsequently the trailer showed a lot of footage of attractive girls showering and guaranteed there was plenty more where that came from. And they're right, too! This greatest trailer ever also perfectly captures the tone of the film, as it's a demented tongue-in-cheek bad girls penitentiary exploitation flick that definitely shouldn't be taken too seriously. My best guess would be that writer/director Tom DeSimone is a pleasantly deranged and sleaze-obsessed guy that single-handedly wanted to bring homage to all "Women in Prison" movies at once. The lead warden (played by no one less than Sybil Danning) looks an awful lot like Dyanne Thorne when she gave image to Ilsa, the She Wolf of the SS and several of the other supportive characters appear to be pure stereotypes as well. There's the sadistic, corpulent and massively lesbian guard, the kinky S&M leader of the dorm (that looks about three times as old as the other inmates), the vulnerable who shouldn't be there and – of course – the tough black chicks. There's only one man popping up in the film and naturally he's a legitimate bastard. Tons of nudity and outrageous cat-fights make this a very textbook example of politically incorrect 80's exploitation, but it sure it a lot of fun to watch. Only the Italian directors deliver movies of this kind that are even better.