{"id":1298,"date":"2024-07-25T02:34:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T02:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=1298"},"modified":"2024-10-13T18:37:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T22:37:52","slug":"times-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/07\/25\/times-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Times Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Times Square<\/strong>\u00a0(1980)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Associated Film Distribution\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, nudity, some sexual content, mature themes)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Allan Moyle\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jacob Brackman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Blue Weaver\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: James A. Contner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 17, 1980 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Peter Coffield, Herbert Berghof, David Margulies, Anna Maria Horsford, Michael Margotta, J.C. Quinn, Miguel Pinero, Ronald \u201cSmokey\u201d Stevens, Tim Choate, Elizabeth Pena, Steve James, Melanie Henderson.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: N\/A<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0I purchased the soundtrack to Times Square<\/strong> a few years before I actually saw the film. Here\u2019s the timeline. The movie came out in 1980. I bought the two-record set at a flea market in \u201983 after listening to a few tracks at my then-girlfriend\u2019s house. I finally saw it on cable in \u201988.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I wanted to see Times Square<\/strong> when it came out, but the R rating and two overprotective parents prevented it. It played for a week before disappearing into movie oblivion. Over the years, I would pore over the pictures inside the album cover, wishing that my local video store carried this movie. Sadly, it wasn\u2019t available in that format. By the time I finally saw it, I already had a sufficient knowledge of the music AND a newfound appreciation for lead actor Tim Curry having seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 My initial reaction to Times Square<\/strong> was one of disappointment. I didn\u2019t think that it was all that great. I didn\u2019t get the opportunity to rewatch it until fall 2000 when it popped up on The Movie Channel. That time, it clicked. I\u2019ve been a fan ever since.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 What\u2019s cool about Times Square<\/strong> is how it captures pre-Giuliani Times Square in all of its seedy glory when the streets were lined with grindhouse theaters, adult book stores and shady people. It also perfectly embodies the New York punk rock scene of the late 70s.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Times Square<\/strong> concerns two misunderstood teenage girls, streetwise Nicky Marotta (Johnson) and sheltered Pamela Pearl (Alvarado, The Frighteners). They meet in a mental hospital where Nicky\u2019s taken for a psych evaluation after an altercation with some cops. Pamela\u2019s politician father David (Coffield, Cry Rape) commits her after she has a meltdown at a public hearing regarding his plans to clean up Times Square. Nicky decides to bolt and convinces Pamela to come with her. They get away in a stolen ambulance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Naturally, Mr. Pearl makes every effort to locate his wayward daughter. The girls don\u2019t want to be found. Now you would think that they\u2019d try to keep a low profile. That\u2019s simply not Nicky\u2019s style. The girls form a punk rock band called The Sleez Sisters and become an instant underground sensation. Their acts of public defiance mainly involve throwing TVs off of building rooftops.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The girls develop a friendship with overnight disc jockey Johnny LaGuardia (Curry) who reads Pamela\u2019s poetry on the air. One of the film\u2019s pivotal moments is when the girls lash out at the adult authority figures in their lives in an angry song called \u201cYour Daughter Is One\u201d. They perform it live on Johnny\u2019s broadcast. The targets include Dr. Huber (Berghof, Target), Dr. Zymansky (Margulies, Ghostbusters), well-meaning social worker Rosie Washington (Horsford, Minority Report) and Mr. Pearl. One can see the potential greatness of Times Square <\/strong>in scenes like this. Unfortunately, it was the victim of studio interference. This is what ultimately led to director Allan Moyle\u2019s departure before completion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There\u2019s so much to admire about Times Square<\/strong> that it\u2019s frustrating it doesn\u2019t live up to its full potential. It\u2019s good when it could have been great. It\u2019s bold, but it could have been bolder had the powers-that-be at the studio allowed Moyle to do it his way. They removed the more overt lesbian content which would have added more depth to the girls\u2019 relationship. Nicky and Pamela form a strong bond with each other as shown in the scene where they make a pact to scream each other\u2019s name as loud as they can in times of trouble. The next logical step would have been a sexual relationship, the ultimate form of rebellion against Pamela\u2019s narrow-minded father.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The movie\u2019s narrative problems can be attributed to the changes demanded by studio execs fearful of alienating audiences. It\u2019s somewhat choppy and disjointed due to a sudden shift in focus. It starts off as Pamela\u2019s story then turns into Nicky\u2019s story without warning. I don\u2019t mind this kind of thing. I\u2019m just saying the transition should have been smoother. It might have been if the suits just left Moyle and his film alone.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The soundtrack is awesome! It contains songs by Roxy Music, The Ruts, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Lou Reed, The Cure, XTC and The Pretenders. Moyle makes excellent use of Patti Smith\u2019s angsty anthem \u201cPissing in a River\u201d. The only sour note is a track by Robin Gibb (of The Bee Gees) & Marcy Levy. It\u2019s definitely out of place among the more punk-oriented tunes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Curry does a great job (as usual!) here, but I suppose there\u2019s a fair amount of bias involved since I am a big fan of this actor as well as Rocky Horror (member of the Philadelphia cast, summer \u201994!). The two female leads have great chemistry and each turn in fine individual performances as well. A quick peek at Johnson\u2019s filmography reveals that she hasn\u2019t appeared in a film since the 1988 remake of DOA. She turns in a performance of such raw power in Times Square<\/strong> it\u2019s befuddling that she didn\u2019t get too far with her acting career.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Times Square<\/strong> has most of the right pieces, but they don\u2019t fit together quite as well as they should. It\u2019s a good movie as well as a perfect documentation of a time and place that no longer exist. Somebody in real life achieved Mr. Pearl\u2019s goal of cleaning up Times Square. Now it\u2019s a clean place suitable for all ages which goes to show that not all progress is the good kind.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Times Square\u00a0(1980)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Associated Film Distribution\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, nudity, some sexual content, mature themes)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Allan Moyle\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jacob Brackman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Blue Weaver\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: James A. Contner\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 17, 1980 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Peter Coffield, Herbert Berghof, David Margulies, Anna Maria Horsford, Michael Margotta, J.C. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cool-cult-flicks","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Times-Square-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1298"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1910,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298\/revisions\/1910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}