hyped garbage

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Read some of the reviews in here,and I keep wonderin if we're all talking bout the same movie. Cause this is absolutely garbage. Poorly edited,poorly directed,poorly performed,decent soundtrack,but it can't save the movie.The story is all over the place,but the gist of it is: Two girls running away.One from the law, the other from her preacher politician dad.Who seem to be intended on proving that there's something wrong with his daughter. They runaway together and hole up in different abandoned buildings.Without any real plan There was supposedly some lesbian love in the picture,but it got dropped.. The one running from the law is clearly really mental ill.Though they don't really dare touch into the subject,too deeply. The biggest problem is that the scenes are so poorly put together,and acted.You don't really understand what's going on,or what drives the character.All of a Sudden they have a band and fans. A radio dj. who've been tracking them.And that has received leathers,from the politician's daughter, they all of a sudden turn on,even though he done nothing but helping them.There are a lot of scenes that don't make sense.Like the two of them going around dropping TV-sets from rooftops,you never get why,or what point they are trying to makeI got the impression the director was trying for something that never quite got made.I can see some parallels to a later 80s movie that was called certain fury(Every other 80s movie, had the name fury in it) Which has much of the same storyline,but in a more raw realistic way.I can also see some similarities to the fab,stains,with diane lane And I can definitely see Pump up the volume in it.Maybe that was the movie he was trying to make.All in all this was a terrible movie

This was a fun story about two teenage girls who came from very different backgrounds, but formed a special friendship in which each had something very important to offer the other.Pammy had always lived a sheltered life, the daughter of a prominent politician. It is just as her dad is gearing up for an important campaign that she has a breakdown that leads to her sharing a hospital room with a homeless punk rocker, Nicky. Pam is immediately drawn to the uninhibited Nicky, and together they steal an ambulance and flee.Over the course of the movie, Nicky helps Pam build confidence by encouraging her to do things she never would have on her own, such as dropping TV sets off of rooftops. Pammy seems to provide a sort of stability for Nicky that allows her to finally utilize her creativity in a positive fashion.Because the story of the politician's daughter makes the news, the girls gain a reputation throughout the city, which is helped along by encouraging words from a DJ, played by Tim Curry. At first, he only speaks to the girls on the air, giving them words of support. Eventually, he allows them to perform on-air and spreads word of their deeds, creating a cult following. Calling themselves "The Sleaze Sisters," the teens build a cult following. Yet, with all the resources of his position of power, Pam's father is unable to find where the girls are hiding.The important parts of this movie are the girls' friendship, the setting, and the soundtrack. I didn't like Tim Curry's performance that much, but I think that's just because I don't like him in general. I found his broadcaster more annoying than anything.The movie ends with Nicky disappearing into a crowd after a successful performance on top of a movie theater marquee. It is left open as to whether she and Pam keep in touch, and where their lives go from here. It seems to be suggested that they will both be healthier and more successful because of the friendship they shared. They helped each other learn to deal with things they couldn't before, taught each other valuable life skills.Suggested double feature: watch this movie back to back with Liquid Sky. Both look at life in early-80's Manhattan and place a large emphasis on creating their atmosphere through their soundtracks. But whereas Liquid Sky focuses on death and sex, Times Square shows lives full of joy and hope.

I'm so glad i'm not the only one who thought this was a great film. I saw this movie in 1980 several times. I was a Freshmen in high school and into the punk scene. This movie was such a big influence in my life. I ran away from home after seeing it. Since I grew up in Orange County California and was only fifteen, Times Square was a little too far so I ran away to Hollywood. I have to admit it was kinda fun and I was lucky in that I didn't end up a statistic. I bought the sound track before I ran away and recorded it on tape and used to sit on Hollywood Blvd. and blast it on my ghetto blaster. I haven't seen the movie in years, actually I hadn't even thought about it until I was rating music on my yahoo radio station and Patti Smiths "Pissin in a river" came on. I did a search and found this. After reading all the reviews and comments I really want to see it again. I think I'm gonna buy the DVD. I've looked for it in video rental stores in the past and have never found it. Has anyone ever rented it? My Yahoo ID is yougotjamesnolan if you ever want to listen to my station, I think you'll like it if you like the Times Square sound track. Let me know what you think!

I must confess up front to a favorable bias toward "Times Square". Just before its release I recall seeing the trailer and being won over by the scene in the hospital where Nikki begins eating the flowers. Since this was only about 10 seconds into the trailer it is fair to say that I immediately connected with the film. The same trailer is included with the DVD and I was happy to see that my memory of the event was accurate. After seeing the actual feature I went out and bought the double album, which I still own.I know more about films now than I did 25 years ago and thanks to the DVD commentary (by Director Allen Moyle and Robin Johnson-who played Nikki) I now know a lot about what went into the making of "Times Square". Unfortunately Robin's co-star Trini Alvarado (Pammy) was not available for the commentary. Although most viewers consider Nikki the central character, Nikki really needs Pammy to play off (much like Charlize Theron needs Christina Ricci's reaction shots in "Monster"), plus Pammy's scenes without Nikki are some of the best in the film and Pammy is the character who undergoes all the changes in the story, so you can't really say that one of them is more important than the other."Times Square" suffered the same fate that Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" did 40 years earlier. The producers took control of the final cut, re-shot some scenes, deleted others, and released a version that did not reflect the director's vision. Apparently no one has ever been able to find the deleted footage for either film. Although "Times Square" was butchered even more than "Ambersons", it seems to have been less damaged. In part that is because the originally intended version would never have approached the perfection of the original "Amberson's". Perhaps more importantly, "Times Square" has a Haskel Wexler gritty documentary style that simply transcends the narrative elements of the story. So changes to the storyline could not take away from its basic ambiance nor from its preservation of the look of 1979 Times Square-something that was even then a ghost world.Moyle now wishes he had not left the production after a dispute over including additional songs (so they could have a double album) because his continued presence would at least have had some damage control value. Producer Robert Stigwood ("Saturday Night Fever", "Saying Alive", "Jesus Christ Superstar", Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" ) was determined to release yet another of his musical exploitation films designed to make a lot of money on the soundtrack. This accounts for the inclusion of the completely inappropriate "Help Me" (The Bee Gees), the movie actually goes out on that song although they switch to something more appropriate midway through the credits.The commercialization of the film also included dropping all obvious hints of a lesbian relationship between the two girls. This was probably a commercial mistake because a public controversy might have actually increased attendance. Ironically, if the lesbian angle had remained Moyle would have been accused of exploitation because it is really unnecessary for the storyline. Likewise the script changes needed when Alvarado refused to dance topless saved Moyle from looking like an exploiter.While what survives has major continuity and character development issues, the core of the story may actually work better. Two emotionally damaged girls-polar opposites- bond and help each other. It ends with Altman's cool "Kansas City" twist where the seemingly weaker girl becomes protective of the tough girl. I like the way that Pamela's father finally gets it and backs away, letting her continue to help Nikki until she feels that Nikki can continue without her. You first realize how strong and together Nikki has made Pammy by the end of my favorite montage sequence. After ordering her out, Nikki trashes their room, tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide, and completely breaks down at the radio station. Inter-cut with this is a shot of Pammy standing outside her father's home. At the station Nikki is screaming "Pammy" over and over as they agreed to do earlier in the film in moments of total despair. The audio of these screams is extended into the morning after establishing shot of their dock building. Johnny comes into the seemingly empty room and lifts the blanket revealing a peacefully sleeping Pammy sucking her thumb-she has returned to help Nikki.Another highlight is the scene I already mentioned of Nikki eating the flowers in their hospital room. What makes this work is its point-of-view dynamic. Moyle artfully connects us to Pammy for the first time by allowing us to see Nikki from her POV. Later he places us back into Pammy's POV as Nikki non-verbally convinces Pammy to leave the hospital with her. The hospital exit scene only works credibility-wise because the first scene set us up for it.Finally there is Nikki's "people dig dyin on me" line.