JODIE FOSTER & CHERIE CURRIE IN FOXES

year: 1980 rating: **

The late seventies didn’t turn out enough films about the youth culture: Teens not wrapped up in anti-war protests of the prior decade, but just wanting a good time, which there’s not much of in this so-called character-study of four girl/friends: two played by Jodie Foster and The Runaway's Cherie Currie.

Director Adrian Lyne (who'd later click with FATAL ATTRACTION) doesn’t seem interested in the kids, but rather, how atmospheric the lighting affects each close-up shot, which are very abundant. We never get the feeling of placement nor do we establish any distinct, or interesting, location. And why are these girls so miserable and what are they really escaping from?

Other than dull conversations with their miserable parents in scenes befitting an actor's workshop, it feels more like an After School Special than a teen rebellion flick. The music lacks the essential hard-lined energy of, say, OVER THE EDGE. The melancholy intro of Donna Summer’s “On The Radio” is not only played throughout, but pops up whenever things get “deep.” And Cherie Currie’s wild girl character has potential, but lacks screen time and is so doomed she should have a paper taped to her back reading: BURY ME.

This ponderous melodrama starts off okay: good actors and some cool Hollywood Boulevard exteriors. But none are used for very long, and never establishes our protagonists or their destination, which is pretty much nonexistent.