SATISFACTION (aka: Girls of Summer) (director: Joan Freeman; screenwriter: Charles Purpura; cinematographer: Thomas Del Ruth; editor: Joel Goodman; music: Michel Colombier; cast: Justine Bateman (Jennie Lee), Liam Neeson (Martin Falcon), Trini Alvarado (Mooch), Britta Phillips (Billy), Julia Roberts (Daryle), Scott Coffey (Nickie), Deborah Harry (Tina), Chris Nash (Frankie Malloy); Runtime: 93; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Alan Greisman/Aaron Spelling; 20th Century Fox; 1988)
“The only satisfaction I got out of the bad movie Satisfaction was that I was no worse for wear having to endure such awful tunes.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The only satisfaction I got out of the bad movie Satisfaction was that I was no worse for wear having to endure such awful tunes. Director Joan Freeman (Streetwalkin’) keeps the Rock ‘n’ Roll pic cliché-ridden, tacky, innocuous and filled with unbearable rock music—the kind that’s loud and vulgar. The only question I had, was why stage actor Liam Neeson would choose to go slumming in such trash. Did someone hold a knife to his throat? This is the last time Hollywood hired Charles Purpura to write a screenplay or asked Freeman to be a director, which comes as no surprise as far as I’m concerned.
The plot has four female teenagers and one young man forming a rock band called Mystery. They get a gig for the summer at a beach resort and deal with the usual teen movie things: drugs, romance, career choices and music. Class valedictorian Jennie Lee (Justine Bateman, the girl from Family Ties!) is the dirty talking lead singer. Never mind that she can’t sing a lick! The others in the band include a drug-addicted guitarist (Britta Phillips), a slutty bassist (Julia Roberts), a thieving drummer (Trini Alvarado) and a token male keyboard player (Scott Coffey)—a last-minute replacement who goes from classical music to rock without missing a beat. They team up with a once famous older songwriter Martin Falcon (Liam Neeson), the club owner who lost his muse but regains it by writing a ballad for love interest Jennie Lee.
REVIEWED ON 4/24/2009 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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