recommended

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I loved, and still love this movie. When it came out, I was 12, and living a rather sheltered existence in Sacramento, which was very much like a Northern Californian version of the SoCal's "The Valley".This movie does a very realistic job of portraying how different things were for teenagers back in that era. Today's teens have been raised by parents who've bought into the idea that they need to be around their kids 24/7--the whole attachment parenting thing. Young kids spend most of their time around their adult parents, and if they do hang out with other kids, they are highly supervised "play dates". They grow into teens who may have some online freedom, but most likely are regimented into structured "programs"--lessons, classes, teams or clubs with high degrees of adult supervision. Parents often try their hardest to be seen as "friends", with the hope that their teen will share every little last thing about their lives, so different from the generation gap I recall in the late 70s/early 80s when I was that age.And these parents have very little of an adult life outside of their precious darlings-- so unlike what I recall of my parents and their large circle of friends with their frequent dinner parties and kid-free vacations and camping trips. Today's parent would have a guilt trip of epic proportions if it was even suggested that they spend adult time away from the kiddies.They might just be turned in to CPS if they allowed their teenagers to have even the tiniest amount of freedom as the 4 "Foxes" did in this thoughtful and revealing movie. Teenage girls aimlessly driving around, taking buses by themselves down to Hollywood, and having a much older boyfriend with a cool adults-not-welcome party pad would simply never happen in today's helicopter-parented middle classes.My teenage years in the early 80s weren't quite as free as these girls had it, but I remember endless nights spent driving around in a car full of friends with a "suitcase" of cheap Shafer beer, often ending up at the party house belonging to a bunch of 20- something guys--with nary a parent in sight, and no constant texting or calling ones' parents every hour. There was plenty of beer and pot, and lots of kids were having sexual relationships. And yet somehow we all made it--my group of pals all went to university; no one got arrested, addicted or pregnant.Kids like Annie who overdid it were around--though not many suffered the same extreme fate as Cheri Currie's character did. Ironically, Annie was the one with the MOST parental involvement, albeit an abusive authoritarian jerk of a father, and yet she has the toughest road to follow.Jodie Foster is, unsurprisingly, excellent, playing yet another smart, capable and sophisticated-beyond-her-years teen, unflinchingly blasé about sex, booze, and 'ludes until she needs to be emotional about Annie's behavior that is getting her closer and closer to being involuntarily committed to a mental ward. Foster's sheer intelligence is so evident even in those early years; it's no surprise to me that she became such a huge success, and so well-respected for the depth and excellence of both her acting and directing.I really do love this movie, but boy howdy does it highlight how much society has changed in regards to its views of childhood, teenagerdom, and adults' roles. I must admit that I'm rather nostalgic for those freer times when there was more of a healthy boundary between teenagers and their parents position in their lives. "Foxes" is a stylish yet very realistic look at Valley girls before they were "Valley Girls".

If a person grew up in Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley then this film interprets that life very well, especially in the late 70's very early 80's. And who better to clarify this existence than Jodie Foster and Cherie Currie? Portraying Annie was probably no stretch for Cherie Currie who fronted The Runaways. She probably understood Annie very well.People often dismiss the acting as amateurish. I would say not polished but how many teens have a polished act at that age? Nothing is perfect nor understood perfectly at that age. The parents here understand life but can't be understood by their teenage children. Very realistic to me. If the acting had been polished this film wouldn't work. It's the very fact that things seem slightly amateurish that makes this film believable. The film is gritty, grimy, smoggy but also gentle, and young-slightly naive. If you want a peek at life in LA seen through the eyes of it's youth at that time then check this out. Life had it's complications back then even without cell phones, I-pods and Blackberries.

Although I was born in the year that this movie came out and had never heard of it until my junior year of high school (1996) when I saw it I became totally engrossed laughing and crying and feeling along with the characters because me and my friends were them.Their hair, clothes and speech were outdated but the emotions and the desperation of each situation were so familiar! I remember thinking how real it was and how I wished that they would make movies like that still.In fact I saw this movie the night after I had been at a crazy party (not so unlike the one in Jay's house) which had been crashed by what we considered the loser derelicts who hung out on the fringes of our crowd. A world class BS'er and "responsible" mother figure type I identified immediately with Jeanie (I was also the one with a car) although I had a little bit of Madge's insecurities floating around in there too. My best friend was a Deidre and her good friend from childhood was our Annie.Watching the scene when Jeanie is in school or the one where her and her boyfriend break up and then she is telling Madge how much she loved him felt like conversations and situations I had personally had.Now at the age of 27 I recently saw the movie again and felt a surge of emotions because it was like watching back a piece of my own youth (though none of my friends died). I think this is a must see for all girls 13 and up.

Story about four teenage girls growing up in California. Jeanie (Jodie Foster) is the most level-headed of the bunch--but wants to move out of her house where she lives with her divorced mother (Sally Kellerman). Annie (Cherie Currie) is addicted to drugs, alcohol and bad boys and is beaten up by her father. Madge (Marilyn Kagan) has overprotective parents. Deirde (Kandice Stroh) thinks she's more mature than the rest of them.This is nothing new from what we've seen plenty of times before--but this one has one big difference--it's accurate. I graduated from high school in 1980 (when I first saw the film) and I was surprised at how realistic it was. They got the dialogue, clothes and attitudes down completely right. Even the main song of the movie ("On the Radio" by Donna Summer) was a big hit before this came out. This film hit me harder than any other teen film of the time because I could understand and relate to the characters. I knew girls in high school who were just like this! The film is (of course) dated but it captures a time we will never see again.The acting is good on all counts with Foster giving the best performance. The relationship between her and Kellerman (who was excellent) was realistic and well-done. Even Scott Baio (who has a small role as a friend of the girls) more or less realistically played a teen boy.A very good movie--essential viewing if you came of age in 1980. The film has a deserved R rating (plenty of drug use and swearing) but should be seen by all teens. I give it a 8.