| Foxes | | Cast : | Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh | | Director : | Adrian Lyne | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | February 29, 1980 | | DVD Released Date : | August 05, 2003 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 26, 2005 | | Summary | Bare Minimum DVD is an Injurtice to an Overlooked 80s Gem | Content
 | One of the few serious movies about growing up in the early 1980s is finally out on DVD. Sadly its bare bones presentation and disappointing digital transfer may discourage all but diehard fans from seeing this touching film.
The "Foxes" DVD includes nothing more than a single trailer and standard and widescreen editions. No audio commentary, notes, or anything else. And the film's digitization appears to have dulled the subtle hues and sharp color contrasts that made the original cinematography breathtakingly beautiful.
Despite that, it's worth a look.
Unlike the teen sex comedies that overshadowed it (Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgement High), the movie holds up well against time.
Its theme of teen angst is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago and Jodie Foster and sk8er boi Scott Baio (remember him?) lead a fine young cast.
The film follows four San Fernando Valley girls through a homeless existence filled with sex and drugs. Pills, parties, and boys provide instant gratification and home is where you happen to end up that night.
But rather than condemning them, the film is sympathetic, blaming absent, uncaring adults for forcing these teens to grow up alone. And the charismatic cast is impossible to dislike.
The film's opening - a long and loving pan - sets the tone. As day slowly breaks, the cast awakens amid the objects that define teen girlhood, from Twinkies to a picture of a young John Travola, while Donna Summer's "On the Radio" is scored beneath.
From there the pace quickens as we learn about each of character as they head off to school and life. Annie is the wild child who lives for the next party or pill. Deirdre is the boy crazy drama queen. Madge is the shy girl in over her head. And Foster is the one with the plan. It's her job to keep this crew together long enough to finish high school while also keeping her divorced man hunting mother in line.
It's an almost impossible job and one that Foster ultimately fails at.
Despite its age, "Foxes" remains a pleasure to watch. Dated hair, clothes, and references to Joni Mitchell haven't hurt the movie.
The cinematography, though dulled by the DVD transfer, presents the L.A. basin in its best possible light, with beautiful filtered shots at dawn, dusk and at night.
Giorgio Moroder adds an excellent 80s soundtrack that ranges from Donna Summer to Janis Ian.
Perhaps the movie's biggest disappointment is that the young stars around Foster never broke out like the casts of "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985) or "Empire Records" (1995). "Foxes" shows why they should have. But maybe like Bowling for Soup's song "1985," they just hit a wall.
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| Rating | | | Date | December 07, 2003 | | Summary | powerful teen drama | Content
| I loved this movie from the moment I saw it for sale at my video store's discard rack ten years ago. I recently received the DVD as a gift and the sound quality is a big improvement over my old vhs copy. I recommend it for performances, the story and the photography. Jodie Foster's monologue toward the end of the film is particularly memorable. Each girl's story line is realistic and the film itself does a good job of capturing teen life in the late 70s before yuppie values took hold. This is NOT a John Hughes film and is a refreshing change for anyone who was subjected that director's teen films in the 80s. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 10, 2003 | | Summary | Was it ever good? I think not. | Content
| Trials and tribulations of Jodie Foster and her 3 twenty-something year old high school friends... Jodie gives a fair performance, but the others were substantially less than average. Sally Kellerman as Jodie's mom was pretty good. Laura Dern ("Jurassic Park") was interesting in her small scenes. Randy Quaid as one girl's boyfriend was mediocre (see "The Last Detail" for his excellent role in a good movie.) Due to music and cultural references, plus the clothes and hair styles, the movie is pretty dated, but that is not a contributing factor to its badness. False dialogue and some typical cliches are factors, however. The partying scenes are also unconvincing, as everyone smokes joints like cigarettes, drinks a lot, and never appears intoxicated. Director Adrian Lyne has made some good movies ("Jacob's Ladder", "Lolita"). Unfortunately, this is not one of them. Scott Baio escapes bullies on his skateboard. Need I say more? |
| Rating | | | Date | August 06, 2003 | | Summary | L.A. story | Content
| Aside from the patented soft-focus look and one "creepy old uncle" closeup tracking shot of sleeping teenage girls (under the opening credits) this early effort from director Adrian Lyne actually gives us substance over style for a change. With its pop soundtrack and teen angst themes, 1979's "Foxes" could have been dismissed at the time as an estrogen-rich flipside of "Saturday Night Fever". In hindsight, "Foxes" seems ahead of its time, presaging "Less Than Zero", "Kids" and "The Virgin Suicides". Jodie Foster leads a fine cast in this episodic tale of four L.A. girl pals dealing with growing pains at the height of the Sex Drugs & Rock&Roll Era. In this age of "Sex In The City" and the "American Pie" film franchise, you may find this hard to believe, but as a young male (at the time) I remember being shocked by the frank coversations the girls have about sex and relationships (when the boys have left the room!). Good performances all around, with "non actor" Cherie Currie (best known as lead singer of proto-grrrl band The Runaways) actually giving the most believable performance as a troubled druggie. Sally Kellerman (as Foster's mother) has some memorable scenes, and there is a notable cameo from Adam Faith (whom we sadly lost in 2003) as Foster's father. DVD notes: a Cheer to MGM for releasing this sleeper; but a Jeer for the audio transfer-I couldn't catch the dialog at times, and the music soundtrack is undermined by tinny equalization. |
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