Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

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Diane LaneScreen Time: 75%Role: Corinne Burns Age: 15 years old |
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Photos
Directed: Lou Adler
Country: Canada
Language: English
Genre: Coming of Age
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082639
Summary
Corinne Burns retreats far into plans for her band, The Fabulous Stains, after her mother's death. So far that she gets them (she and two cousins) on a tour with a washed-out glam-rock group and a rising British punk band, radically changes her appearance, attracts a cult following and national media attention. With luck like this, what could go wrong?
Movie Reviews
This film apparently is one of the best-kept secrets of 80s cinema, a movie
that was born to be a cult hit. The film focuses on an orphaned teen(Diane
Lane)who hits the road with her three girl rock group the Stains as opening
acts for an over-the-hill glam rock group and an up-and-coming British new
wave/punk outfit. When the glam rock group bows out due to the death of
their drummer(who is mourned by his several common-law wives and
illegitimate children), the Stains and the other group slog on alone, with
Lane and her group quickly grabbing the spotlight through a series of
gimmicky stunts and gaining media notoriety(for one, the girls all dye
white
skunk-like stripes down the middle of their heads, causing a new
teenybopper
trend). The film looks down the long, thin line that separates fame from
notoriety, a line that has grown increasingly blurred in the past 20 years.
We see the way the media latches on to these girls and their antics, making
them celebrities over night, and unmaking them just as quickly. But not to
fear, for the girls latch on to a new medium, the rock video, and find
themselves the fame they deserve.
It's no accident that this movie came out the same year that M-TV
premiered,
because a lot of the fears and concerns that M-TV generated(some of them
still valid)are explored. Is rock that relies on the visual image really
rock? Is rock's spirit diluted or prostituted by videos? In an era where we
watch television shows based on a corporate entity's quest to "create" a
pop
group, the questions are valid ones.
I saw this movie on VH-1 a couple of years ago, and now regret not taping
it. Supposedly it was labelled unreleasable and never made it to the
theatres, and has yet to appear on video. Pity, because there's much to
like--and discuss--that is still relevant today.