Underplayed Gems

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982)

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains poster
Original title
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Directed by
Lou Adler
Genre
musical film, comedy drama
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 27m
Rated
R
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 66 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Three teenage girls start a punk band and face ridicule from male audiences and peers. Their dedication and the fiery persona of their lead singer attract a strong female fan base that helps them achieve rock stardom.

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What happens

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains is a 1982 teen musical drama film about three teenage girls, played by Diane Lane, Laura Dern and Marin Kanter, who start a punk band. The film also features acting roles by real-life punk musicians including Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, Paul Simonon from the Clash, and Vince Welnick and Fee Waybill from the Tubes. The Stains are depicted suffering the derision of male audiences and peers, but their dedication—and the fiery public persona of lead singer Corinne Burns—gains them a strong female fan base that ultimately eclipses their antagonists. The last scene is a triumphant MTV-style professional music video, which indicates the band finally achieved rock stardom. Director Lou Adler and screenwriter Nancy Dowd (aided by Caroline Coon) disagreed starkly on the film's finale, and it was put on hold for two years until it was capped by Adler with the music video. Although it failed to make any commercial headway with its initial release in late 1982, the film became a cult favorite on 1980s cable television, particularly the late-night series Night Flight. Its reputation grew, and it is considered an influence on the riot grrl movement. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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