Reform School Girls (1986) Reviews

• Irresistible stuff.

  Hey_Sweden2012-02-10

  "Reform School Girls" is a deliciously exaggerated entry in the Women In Prison genre. It's all very campy material that the majority of the actors, to their credit, actually play quite straight. The winks start with the fact that its writer / director Tom DeSimone, had previously made another classic, "The Concrete Jungle". Here, DeSimone, cast, and crew clearly have a ball with the trashy 'n' flashy story. Linda Carol plays Jenny, a newcomer to a reform school named Pridemore Juvenile Facility, who mixes it up with both the overbearing head matron Edna (corpulent, big haired Pat Ast, who's an absolute riot) and swaggering top dog convict Charlie (punk rocker Wendy O. Williams, perfectly suited to the role). Also among the main cast is the B movie goddess Sybil Danning, adding to the in- joke tone of the movie seeing that she plays the ruthless warden here and had already played a convict in the earlier "Chained Heat". Ast, Williams, and Danning are a superb trio and make this fun to watch. Carol, by comparison, by playing a more or less decent person (although tough enough to try standing up to the antagonists), comes off as less entertaining. Ast delights in the over the top nature of Edna, setting a stuffed animal on fire and stomping the life out of a real one. DeSimone delivers enough shower scenes / nudity / sex, melodrama, and violence to keep fans content. The sometimes hilarious script features some choice and quotable dialogue. The soundtrack is absolutely kick ass, with Williams singing such ditties as the anthemic "It's My Life" and the title track. The supporting cast aren't slouches, either; Charlotte McGinnis is the concerned Dr. Norton, Sherri Stoner the young innocent Lisa, Denise Gordy the sassy Claudia, Laurie Schwartz the spunky Nicky, and two "Friday the 13th" franchise alumni, Tiffany Helm ("A New Beginning") and Darcy DeMoss ("Jason Lives") play Charlie's flunkies. The movie progresses agreeably through various sordid episodes before coming to a rousing conclusion. In any event, one element you have to appreciate about this sort of thing is the hotness factor of the inmates. It's not exactly boring at any moment, either. There are certainly no complaints from this viewer. Eight out of 10.

• Why movies were invented

  deheor2005-08-05

  This film is a absolutely fun resurrection/send up of the classic New World women in prison movies of the seventies. This reform school seems to be made up almost exclusively of hot looking women in their 20's except for star Wendy O' Williams who was mid-thirties when this epic was made. The plot is WIP classic, young innocents confront harsh reality of life behind bars and everything you would expect from such a film is delivered in spades. Sadistic Warden- Oh yeah, Sybil Danning can play that role in her sleep and nearly does so here. She really isn't given that much to do. Instead she stands aside and lets the films true villain handle the beatings. Evil Prison Matron- This is role Pat Ast was born to play and it is obvious that she is having the time of her life. Her evil laugh gets a good workout and plus she stomps on a KITTEN. Tough new inmate- Linda Carol gives a strong performance as the frequently naked rebel who will not tolerate the rules of reform school and as a result brings hardship on herself and her friends. Sweet Innocent- This is where Reform School girls earns bonus points not just for casting an actress who is good in the film (Sherri Stoner) but someone who achieved celebrity years later as a figure model for Disney thus attracting a new audience to the film of people who want to see the little mermaid naked. Prisoner who runs things- Many people have complained about Wendy O Williams in the film but I thought she was a lot of fun. Sure she was a tad older than most juvenile delinquents but her over the top performance suited the film perfectly. Kindly prison Doc-Charlotte McGinnis plays the only nice staff member in the entire prison so therefore she is the least interesting person but at least she helps get the films climax going. Bad people get their due ending-Fun ending which features gun fire and an exploding bus caps the film off in style with an added bonus of a killer song sung by Wendy O Williams played over the end credits. Although many people were put off by the nudity and occasional violence I think anyone old enough to remember Caged Heat will have a great time with this film as long as they have a high tolerance for kitten stomping.

• Pretty damn good for an exploitation flick

  guyfromjerzee2006-01-06

  I was expecting this movie to fall into the so-bad-it's-good category, but I was wrong. I found myself surprisingly engaged by the film's plot (Yes, it actually had a plot). I was expecting just a bunch of scenes that serve as poor excuses to showcase naked or scantily clad women. Mind you, there are some scenes like that, but nothing more than you would expect in a woman-in-prison movie. The actors play it straight, rarely acting like they're in a B-movie, as they seem to take their roles pretty seriously. Don't get me wrong, "Reform School Girls" is by no means a film of substance. But it's very entertaining without being too much of a guilty pleasure. Plus, the theme song (performed by Wendy O. Williams herself) is a great, catchy tune!

• Tacky, trashy and tasteless fun from director Tom DeSimone.

  BA_Harrison2012-11-10

  Set in a correctional facility for young female offenders, Reform School Girls is technically a Women in Prison movie, but don't expect anything too sleazy ala the films of Jess Franco—as far as the genre goes, this mid 80s effort from seasoned trash director Tom DeSimone is one of the lighter examples, designed to be fun rather than offensive. While it does deliver most of the standard WIP ingredients—cat-fights, communal shower scenes, bull dykes, fragile first-timers, and physical abuse—it's all done in knowingly camp fashion with tongue firmly in cheek. The big-breasted women saunter round their dorm in sexy lingerie, the nastier inmates and members of staff are grotesque caricatures, the dialogue is deliberately tasteless ('I thought I smelled fish'), and the plot is about as cheesy as it could get. Let's face it, any film which sees a scantily clad Wendy O. Williams, lead singer of punk/rock group The Plasmatics, stood atop a speeding bus on a collision course with a sadistic, overweight, shotgun toting head matron called Edna (a memorable performance from Pat Ast) was never intended to be taken all that seriously.

• Quite the experience.

  lewiskendell2010-11-05

  "Don't just stand there, bring me something to wipe my shoe." I had never seen a "women in cages" movie prior to seeing this, so I really had no idea what to expect. Which is good, because no expectations could have prepared me for this, anyway. Reform School Girls is lurid, sordid, exploitative, pure cheese, and yes, even entertaining. If you can handle the absurdity of it all, anyway. The plot is paper thin (Othello, this is not). A young woman gets sent to a reform school/youth prison after a botched bank robbery, and tangles with the corrupt warden and head matron, as well as a gang of vicious girls. That's basically it. And there's lots of underwear.  Basically, you probably already know if you like these kinds of movies, or you're a newbie like me. If you're unfamiliar with the genre, aren't easily offended, and have a fondness for campy/tongue-in-cheek absurdity, I suggest you try this out for the sheer novelty of it. I'll be seeing a few more, just to see if they can possibly get even more over-the-top than Reform School Girls.