Four teenage girls in a suburb of Los Angeles get into all kinds of trouble: parties, drugs, cops, mixed-up parents, older boyfriends. Jodie Foster, the group's level-headed mother hen, tries keeping everyone together "like a family" (like the family unit she's never had), and the heartbreaking thing about the movie is that she can't. Slowly, everyone grows up and goes away. THAT precise plot point, though underscored throughout, is unfortunately tampered with. Did we really need a long sequence with Scott Baio outracing a car full of thugs on his skateboard? Or an even longer sequence--also with Baio--where Foster has a strange soliloquy about pain as an illusion. Some of the dialogue in fact is downright loopy, and I didn't much care for an edit in the third act which segues clumsily from a death to a wedding. But these are nitpicks in what is basically a very sensitive story about the loss of a tight bond. And Jodie's face at the ending speaks volumes. If viewers do get choked up, the movie has earned this. The film doesn't pander for tears or ask for sympathy--it shows us an example of friendship and hopes we understand. *** from ****
52 Reviews
foxes
mossgrymk5 April 2021
Totally agree with the previous reviewer that screenwriter and co producer Gerry Ayres and director Adrian Lyne took a good, simple story of a difficult friendship between two teenage gals and inflated it to the point where the central conflict between Jeannie and Annie is lost amid a clutter of sub plots, added characters that contribute very little, like Madge and Jay, and a need for every messed up teen girl to have an equally messed up (or worse) parent. Consequently, when we come to the tragic denouement the impact, while not lost, is certainly lessened. Indeed, if it were not for the fine acting of Jodie Foster and Cheri Currie there would be little reason to watch the film at all other than some nice shots of LA in the early 80s, courtesy of cinematographers Leon Bijou and Michael Seresin, that make even Van Nuys appear painterly. Give it a C plus. PS...I like Donna Summer as much as the next guy (or gal) but if they played "On The Radio" one more time I was gonna toss my radio through the goddamn tv screen!
early 80's teen
SnoopyStyle18 April 2021
Boy-crazy Deirdre, virgin Madge, Annie Mallick (Cherie Currie), and Jeanie (Jodie Foster) are best friends in the San Fernando Valley. Jeanie has problems with her single mom Mary (Sally Kellerman). Annie keeps running away from her troubled parents and her policeman father wants to institutionalize her. Brad (Scott Baio) is a guy friend. Madge starts dating older Jay Thompson (Randy Quaid).
In very broad strokes, this is Little Women thrown into the L. A. scene. The female friendships are unbreakable. It's very teenage angst, chaotic, and young girls searching for love. It has quite a few interesting young faces. I do wish for it to pick a story and stick with it. It meanders around. In a way, it's a teenage world. With such a scatter-shot plot, it sometimes does hit on something interesting. I also wonder if it needs a female voice with the writing. The girls do give it a good sense of reality. Cherie Currie and Jodie Foster have magnetic presences. It's an interesting early movie about 80's teen culture.
In very broad strokes, this is Little Women thrown into the L. A. scene. The female friendships are unbreakable. It's very teenage angst, chaotic, and young girls searching for love. It has quite a few interesting young faces. I do wish for it to pick a story and stick with it. It meanders around. In a way, it's a teenage world. With such a scatter-shot plot, it sometimes does hit on something interesting. I also wonder if it needs a female voice with the writing. The girls do give it a good sense of reality. Cherie Currie and Jodie Foster have magnetic presences. It's an interesting early movie about 80's teen culture.
Lived the life
cvoci-111 June 2008
One of the best portrayals of being a teen in the late 70's early 80's. Jodie Foster is simply wonderful as the one who tries to hold all of her friends together through the difficult times of being a teen in Califirnia; actually this could have been set in any city. I lived this life of parties, concerts and excess during this same era. Being 44 and looking back it is like looking back into my own memories of kids I went to school with and the things we experienced. Though the look of this movie is dated, big hair, satin jackets etc, however it certainly is still relevant. Donna Summer's "On the Radio" is such a great song and is a vital part of the fabric of this move. This is movie is so much better than the teen sex farces that seemed to proliferate after this movie came out - because it is a pretty close portrayal of what being a teen at this time was like with absent parents and lots of free time.If you haven't seen it you should...
What Are Consequences?
boblipton26 July 2022
Privileged Valley girls discover that they are not immune to the consequences of their bad decisions.
I was not impressed by this movie on my first viewing, more than forty years ago, but a chance to see it on Turner Classic Movies after I had forgotten everything about it revealed a better movie and a more mature understanding of what the film makers were trying to say. The young women, led by Jodie Foster and Cherie Currie, don't understand the costs of what they are doing, between the drinking, the sex, and the hard partying that leaves the parents angry at the sheer destruction. Like the contemporaneous LITTLE DARLINGS, it failed because it didn't really understand who its audience was, and what they would enjoy seeing. The older segment of the audience was angry at the young women, and the younger portions didn't care for the unhappy ending with its inherent moralizing.
Having grown up with the East Coast bracket of privileged young people, I can say the attitudes were precisely on point. With Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid, and Laura Dern.
I was not impressed by this movie on my first viewing, more than forty years ago, but a chance to see it on Turner Classic Movies after I had forgotten everything about it revealed a better movie and a more mature understanding of what the film makers were trying to say. The young women, led by Jodie Foster and Cherie Currie, don't understand the costs of what they are doing, between the drinking, the sex, and the hard partying that leaves the parents angry at the sheer destruction. Like the contemporaneous LITTLE DARLINGS, it failed because it didn't really understand who its audience was, and what they would enjoy seeing. The older segment of the audience was angry at the young women, and the younger portions didn't care for the unhappy ending with its inherent moralizing.
Having grown up with the East Coast bracket of privileged young people, I can say the attitudes were precisely on point. With Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid, and Laura Dern.
Great soundtrack & the film takes me back to the late 70's.
wazza-410 October 1998
"Foxes" is one movie I remember for it's portrayal of teenagers in the late 1970's. As I am exactly Jodie Foster's age, I related to this movie. It deals with the frustrations, temptations, relationships & rebellion of youth. The soundtrack is great with inspiring rock eg. "More Than a Feeling" by Boston and sad numbers like "On the Radio" by Donna Summer. The music of my late teens. Yep, I'll always remember this one, even if it wasn't huge.
"I hate my hips!" screams Jeanie's Mom Mary . . .
tadpole-596-91825615 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . who seems to be the weak link in the chain of events culminating with the doom of Jeanie's best friend Annie. Mary's so desperate to hook up with random men that she totally neglects and sometimes abandons her beleaguered daughter's broken circle of friends. Throughout FOXES every adult in sight seems eager to attack, abuse, marry, berate, browbeat, institutionalize, drug, booze up or incarcerate Jeanie's quartet of endangered 15- and 16-year-olds. Viewers realize at about 1:11:22 into this story that there's little or no hope for a happy ending here because self-centered Mary hates her hips. The only question remaining is how many young teens will have to die because of this 40-year-old harridan's thunder thighs?
Weak story, dialogue, and direction.
hemisphere65-14 April 2021
I can't imagine anyone referring to this as realistic. While some of the characterizations are believable (Scott Baio), most are melodramatic fodder. Even Jodie Foster can't deliver this dialogue convincingly, and she really tries.
The Madge character looks as much like a high school student as Rizzo in Grease.
As far as direction, the storyline wanders too much, and then the last scenes are packed in like the producers told Lyne he only had five minutes left.
Not very good, but nice to see some young faces.
The Madge character looks as much like a high school student as Rizzo in Grease.
As far as direction, the storyline wanders too much, and then the last scenes are packed in like the producers told Lyne he only had five minutes left.
Not very good, but nice to see some young faces.
Pretty accurate
preppy-318 August 2006
Story about four teenage girls growing up in California. Jeanie (Jodie Foster) is the most level-headed of the bunch--but wants to move out of her house where she lives with her divorced mother (Sally Kellerman). Annie (Cherie Currie) is addicted to drugs, alcohol and bad boys and is beaten up by her father. Madge (Marilyn Kagan) has overprotective parents. Deirde (Kandice Stroh) thinks she's more mature than the rest of them.
This is nothing new from what we've seen plenty of times before--but this one has one big difference--it's accurate. I graduated from high school in 1980 (when I first saw the film) and I was surprised at how realistic it was. They got the dialogue, clothes and attitudes down completely right. Even the main song of the movie ("On the Radio" by Donna Summer) was a big hit before this came out. This film hit me harder than any other teen film of the time because I could understand and relate to the characters. I knew girls in high school who were just like this! The film is (of course) dated but it captures a time we will never see again.
The acting is good on all counts with Foster giving the best performance. The relationship between her and Kellerman (who was excellent) was realistic and well-done. Even Scott Baio (who has a small role as a friend of the girls) more or less realistically played a teen boy.
A very good movie--essential viewing if you came of age in 1980. The film has a deserved R rating (plenty of drug use and swearing) but should be seen by all teens. I give it a 8.
This is nothing new from what we've seen plenty of times before--but this one has one big difference--it's accurate. I graduated from high school in 1980 (when I first saw the film) and I was surprised at how realistic it was. They got the dialogue, clothes and attitudes down completely right. Even the main song of the movie ("On the Radio" by Donna Summer) was a big hit before this came out. This film hit me harder than any other teen film of the time because I could understand and relate to the characters. I knew girls in high school who were just like this! The film is (of course) dated but it captures a time we will never see again.
The acting is good on all counts with Foster giving the best performance. The relationship between her and Kellerman (who was excellent) was realistic and well-done. Even Scott Baio (who has a small role as a friend of the girls) more or less realistically played a teen boy.
A very good movie--essential viewing if you came of age in 1980. The film has a deserved R rating (plenty of drug use and swearing) but should be seen by all teens. I give it a 8.
an engrossing sleeper on teenage alienation
Quinoa198428 January 2020
First of all, Foxes is one of those times where my opinion on it shifted, if ever so slightly, over the course of just two minutes - hell, just one edit - in the last five to ten minutes. At first, what happens with Cherie Currie's character Annie ultimately was disappointing for me inasmuch that the film was not following a path that was expected (or really much of a direct path at all, to the writer and Adrien Lyne's credit they make this intentionally shapeless when it comes to structure so it's squarely about these girls, their parents, their sometimes lovers and the difficulties they face living on some kind of edge), and her fate felt a bit Afterschool-Special-like. But then when it's revealed that there's a time jump and a place where I thought the girls were at is something else, my opinion changed again to just "BRILLIANT!" Is it a calculated choice with what the story jumps to for its denouemont? Maybe, but it worked for me.
Secondly, this is a very particular kind of story of high school aged drama, where it almost all takes place outside of that. Foxes doesn't judge these girls or their parents (well, that cop father is certainly scum, pardon my French), and I gather this without him getting much dialog at all), and that's a major credit to how much the filmmakers trust the audience to get it. Of course it's also of this time, when hitching a ride was the norm and "On the Radio" by Donna Summer could be used for the Main Theme of the movie (used a little too much mayhap but I got used to it), and when frankly it was before parents became very protective of their teenage children. This has an odor of late 1970's Los Angeles Free-Wheeling fun and horror, and if it has aged as far as technology or the cars or music, it hasn't when it comes to this basic thing: sometimes teenagers go... wild.
And lastly, this could have been a bit less enjoyable and the aimlessness distracting if it weren't for the performances across the board; Foster grounds this as Jeanie, and what I love about her here is that she makes her seem like she *should* be too mature or educated to hang with some of this crowd, but she also imbues her with the spirit of 'hey, I want to hang out with my friends and I really CARE for them, Annie most of all (who is, ahem, not okay... sorry I couldn't resist). Currie is also magnetic in her natural way, literally a runaway for most of it, and she is surrounded by people like Sally Kellerman as Jeanie's mom (some of the best scenes are between mother and daughter, which feel sloppy and hard like the most realistic and horribly charged arguments), Randy Quaid as the much-too-old boyfriend for 16 year old Madge (yikes), and even Laura Dern pops up for a couple of minutes which was a nice surprise.
An engrossing if flawed sleeper, best seen on an old VHS.
Secondly, this is a very particular kind of story of high school aged drama, where it almost all takes place outside of that. Foxes doesn't judge these girls or their parents (well, that cop father is certainly scum, pardon my French), and I gather this without him getting much dialog at all), and that's a major credit to how much the filmmakers trust the audience to get it. Of course it's also of this time, when hitching a ride was the norm and "On the Radio" by Donna Summer could be used for the Main Theme of the movie (used a little too much mayhap but I got used to it), and when frankly it was before parents became very protective of their teenage children. This has an odor of late 1970's Los Angeles Free-Wheeling fun and horror, and if it has aged as far as technology or the cars or music, it hasn't when it comes to this basic thing: sometimes teenagers go... wild.
And lastly, this could have been a bit less enjoyable and the aimlessness distracting if it weren't for the performances across the board; Foster grounds this as Jeanie, and what I love about her here is that she makes her seem like she *should* be too mature or educated to hang with some of this crowd, but she also imbues her with the spirit of 'hey, I want to hang out with my friends and I really CARE for them, Annie most of all (who is, ahem, not okay... sorry I couldn't resist). Currie is also magnetic in her natural way, literally a runaway for most of it, and she is surrounded by people like Sally Kellerman as Jeanie's mom (some of the best scenes are between mother and daughter, which feel sloppy and hard like the most realistic and horribly charged arguments), Randy Quaid as the much-too-old boyfriend for 16 year old Madge (yikes), and even Laura Dern pops up for a couple of minutes which was a nice surprise.
An engrossing if flawed sleeper, best seen on an old VHS.
Growing up in LA
Prismark1018 June 2015
Foxes is Adrian Lyne's debut movie after a successful stint in creating commercials in the 1970s.
Just like Alan Parker in Bugsy Malone, he teams up Jodie Foster and Scott Baio taking a meandering look at the friendship of four teenage girls growing up in LA's San Fernando Valley in the late 1970s as they deal with sex, drink, drugs, partying, love and growing up. Jodie Foster tries to protect them all but some are hell bent on self destruction. Giorgio Moroder provides the tinny synth music and Donna Summer sings the infectious title song 'On the radio.'
Looking at the film over three decades later it features a more grimy and seedier suburb, its still contained in the disco era where even the adult characters seem lost and screwed up. British actor Adam Faith has a cameo as Jodie's dad who is a tour manager.
Despite the on-screen talent which contains several Oscar nominees this is a rather dull and plodding film with very little point to it. The music livens it up a little as Glam rockers Angel make an appearance.
Lyne makes good use of lighting and establishes a visual look that will become popular in the 1980s.
Just like Alan Parker in Bugsy Malone, he teams up Jodie Foster and Scott Baio taking a meandering look at the friendship of four teenage girls growing up in LA's San Fernando Valley in the late 1970s as they deal with sex, drink, drugs, partying, love and growing up. Jodie Foster tries to protect them all but some are hell bent on self destruction. Giorgio Moroder provides the tinny synth music and Donna Summer sings the infectious title song 'On the radio.'
Looking at the film over three decades later it features a more grimy and seedier suburb, its still contained in the disco era where even the adult characters seem lost and screwed up. British actor Adam Faith has a cameo as Jodie's dad who is a tour manager.
Despite the on-screen talent which contains several Oscar nominees this is a rather dull and plodding film with very little point to it. The music livens it up a little as Glam rockers Angel make an appearance.
Lyne makes good use of lighting and establishes a visual look that will become popular in the 1980s.
A poignant and excellent early 80's teen drama gem
Woodyanders30 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie (the former lead singer of the seminal all-girl rock group the Runaways in her remarkably able acting debut), Marilyn Kagan, and Kandice Stroh are uniformly believable, splendid and touching as the titular quartet, who are a tight-knit clique of troubled, fiercely loyal adolescent girls with negligent, uncaring, self-absorbed parents who do their best to grow up and fend for themselves in the affluent San Fernando Valley, California suburbs. The girls are forced to make serious decisions about sex, drugs, alcohol, commitment, and so on at a tender young age when they're not fully prepared to completely own up to the potentially harmful consequences of said decisions. Foster, giving one of her most perceptive, affecting and underrated performances to date, is basically the group's den mother who presides over the well-being of both herself and the others; she's especially concerned about the good-hearted, but reckless and self-destructive Currie, whose carelessly hedonistic lifestyle makes her likely to meet an untimely end.
This picture offers a poignant, insightful, often devastatingly credible and thoroughly absorbing examination of broken, dysfunctional families which exist directly underneath suburbia's neatly manicured surface and the tragic net result of such families: tough, resilient, but unhappy and vulnerable kids who have to confront the trials and tribulations of growing up on their own because their parents are either too inconsiderate or even nonexistent. Adrian ("Fatal Attraction," "Jacob's Ladder") Lyne's direction is both sturdy and observant while Gerald Ayres' script is somewhat messy and rambling, but overall still accurate in its frank, gritty, unsentimental depiction of your average latchkey kid's nerve-wrackingly chaotic, capricious and unpredictable everyday life. Leon Bijou's soft, dewy, almost pastoral cinematography properly suggests a delicate and easily breakable sense of tranquility and innocence. Giorgio Moroder arranged the excellent score, which makes particularly effective use of Donna Summer's elegiac "On the Radio." The top-notch cast includes Sally Kellerman as Foster's neurotic, insecure, peevish mother, Scott Baio as a sweet skateboarder dude, Randy Quaid as Kagan's rich older boyfriend, British 60's pop singer Adam Faith as Foster's feckless, absentee rock promoter father, and Lois Smith as Kagan's smothering, overprotective mother. Appearing in brief bits are Robert Romanus (Mike Damone "Fast Times at Richmont High") as one of Foster's morose ex-boyfriends and a gawky, braces-wearing Laura Dern as an obnoxious party crasher. Achingly authentic, engrossing and deeply moving (Currie's grim ultimate fate is very heart-breaking), "Foxes" is quite simply one of the most unsung and under-appreciated teen movies made about early 80's adolescence.
This picture offers a poignant, insightful, often devastatingly credible and thoroughly absorbing examination of broken, dysfunctional families which exist directly underneath suburbia's neatly manicured surface and the tragic net result of such families: tough, resilient, but unhappy and vulnerable kids who have to confront the trials and tribulations of growing up on their own because their parents are either too inconsiderate or even nonexistent. Adrian ("Fatal Attraction," "Jacob's Ladder") Lyne's direction is both sturdy and observant while Gerald Ayres' script is somewhat messy and rambling, but overall still accurate in its frank, gritty, unsentimental depiction of your average latchkey kid's nerve-wrackingly chaotic, capricious and unpredictable everyday life. Leon Bijou's soft, dewy, almost pastoral cinematography properly suggests a delicate and easily breakable sense of tranquility and innocence. Giorgio Moroder arranged the excellent score, which makes particularly effective use of Donna Summer's elegiac "On the Radio." The top-notch cast includes Sally Kellerman as Foster's neurotic, insecure, peevish mother, Scott Baio as a sweet skateboarder dude, Randy Quaid as Kagan's rich older boyfriend, British 60's pop singer Adam Faith as Foster's feckless, absentee rock promoter father, and Lois Smith as Kagan's smothering, overprotective mother. Appearing in brief bits are Robert Romanus (Mike Damone "Fast Times at Richmont High") as one of Foster's morose ex-boyfriends and a gawky, braces-wearing Laura Dern as an obnoxious party crasher. Achingly authentic, engrossing and deeply moving (Currie's grim ultimate fate is very heart-breaking), "Foxes" is quite simply one of the most unsung and under-appreciated teen movies made about early 80's adolescence.
a truer portrait of it's time than many might care to see, but it does feature "Angel"
Judexdot130 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I was just a bit young for this one, but I had to see it. There's some excellent music, which many folks have mentioned, but no one seems to notice a very rare appearance by "Angel", a now mostly ignored but once quite popular musical outfit. Wearing their trademark white outfits, they grind through "20th Century Foxes", and apparently all try to cram into the camera's field of vision. Keyboardist Gregg Giuffria remains the bands highlight, and has apparently never gotten much of a haircut, ever! Cherie Currie (ex-Runaways singer) begins a brief, but notable, acting career here, and is quite memorable alongside Jodie Foster, and the rest. (Her topless 3-D scenes in "Parasite", and her UFO sighting, in "Wavelength" kept us all watching her for a time).
It's not a masterpiece, but it preserves a chunk of its period, for all to gaze upon, and wonder.
It's not a masterpiece, but it preserves a chunk of its period, for all to gaze upon, and wonder.
Slush in the city
p-stepien29 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Adrian Lyne's debut feature ("Indecent Proposal", "9 1/2 Weeks", "Jacob's Ladder" tells a story of four adolescent girls dealing with the conundrums of youth, such as sex, love, drugs, peer pressure and more importantly growing up. Featuring Jodie Foster as Jeanie, the alpha female of the pack, protectively trying to care for her tightly knit group, shielding them from harm. Despite her best intentions each girl has her own paths and at best Jeanie can offer support, but not ultimate solutions to youthful angst and self-destructive tendencies of her crew (especially with the troubled Annie played by Cherie Currie).
Ploddingly plotted Lyne's movie offers a realistic portrayal of teenagers on the verge of adulthood, albeit one as intriguing as watching a reality TV show about four average teenagers talking, drinking, partying and supplying occasional mindful commentaries. Despite an endearing lead in Foster (not helped by distractingly tainted performances of other girls) the movie lazily cruises around Los Angeles through collage of scenes scarcely interconnected with each other. Not the best debut, albeit some promise (essentially regarding Lyne's taste for intriguing shots) hid between the underwritten script and chaotically directed movie (ending with disjointed jumping between a morbid car crash, a wedding and finally an errant soliloquy near a grave). The sleepy score by Giorgio Moroder doesn't help matters, ergo enhancing my incessant focus problem, finding myself drifting away from the movie and its story to think about tomorrow's dinner, unfinished work or dissecting Jodie Foster's movie career...
Ploddingly plotted Lyne's movie offers a realistic portrayal of teenagers on the verge of adulthood, albeit one as intriguing as watching a reality TV show about four average teenagers talking, drinking, partying and supplying occasional mindful commentaries. Despite an endearing lead in Foster (not helped by distractingly tainted performances of other girls) the movie lazily cruises around Los Angeles through collage of scenes scarcely interconnected with each other. Not the best debut, albeit some promise (essentially regarding Lyne's taste for intriguing shots) hid between the underwritten script and chaotically directed movie (ending with disjointed jumping between a morbid car crash, a wedding and finally an errant soliloquy near a grave). The sleepy score by Giorgio Moroder doesn't help matters, ergo enhancing my incessant focus problem, finding myself drifting away from the movie and its story to think about tomorrow's dinner, unfinished work or dissecting Jodie Foster's movie career...
Great movie...unforgettable
ehoshaw12 January 2001
I adore this movie. It is one of the best teen movies ever! Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, and Kandice Stroh were awesome! The whole movie seems realistic, and is very interesting and thoughtful. It concerns four teenage girls struggling with problems as they live their lives in the San Fernando Valley. Jeanie (Foster) is fighting with her divorced mother, Annie (Currie) is a teen runaway who drinks and pops pills, and runs away from her abusive father. Madge (Kagan) is a young girl who is overweight and mad that she is a virgin. Plus, her parents are overprotective and she has annoying younger siblings. Then there is Deirdre (Stroh) who is not as developed as the other characters, she is basically one of their friends who likes boys and has a lot of boy troubles. I like the music, the acting, and there were some scenes that were great...the party and the ending were standout scenes. The concert scenes were funny as well. The ending is a tearjerker, but I won't give it away. See for yourself and rent or buy this great film.
Disturbing & sad tale of teenage shallowness & temptation
Barky4425 September 2005
I have been a Jodie Foster fan ever since we were both kids, from her Disney years. I loved her tomboy antics in films like Candleshoe.
"Foxes" was such a huge departure from all of that.
Where other young female actors of that era turned to sexual puerility disguised as comedy ("Little Darlings", anyone?), Jodie went for a depressing and tragic tale of teens dragged to their demise by the powerful allure of temptation and addiction.
This was not Disney. This was not Porky's. This was not "Halloweed". This was a dark & powerful story of the destruction of young lives. Sadly it's a tale that still plays out on a daily basis all over the country, this film could be replayed (with a current soundtrack) and still be wholly relevant.
It's not the best film ever made, it is tired at some parts, not all the performances are particularly outstanding. But Jodie Foster continued to show her chops as a real adult actor (a trend started when she was very young in Taxi Driver).
7 out of 10 Barky
"Foxes" was such a huge departure from all of that.
Where other young female actors of that era turned to sexual puerility disguised as comedy ("Little Darlings", anyone?), Jodie went for a depressing and tragic tale of teens dragged to their demise by the powerful allure of temptation and addiction.
This was not Disney. This was not Porky's. This was not "Halloweed". This was a dark & powerful story of the destruction of young lives. Sadly it's a tale that still plays out on a daily basis all over the country, this film could be replayed (with a current soundtrack) and still be wholly relevant.
It's not the best film ever made, it is tired at some parts, not all the performances are particularly outstanding. But Jodie Foster continued to show her chops as a real adult actor (a trend started when she was very young in Taxi Driver).
7 out of 10 Barky
Teenagers ARE Shallow, but They Also ARE People.
FiendishDramaturgy16 April 2008
This work is striking in its accurate depiction of teenage life at the time of its execution. Though this is a broad generalization, parents of that time were too self-absorbed to be real parents, and those who were home tended to be far too distracted from the real issues, where their children were concerned.
This film teaches us how to let go, even when it is painful, and does so with a sweet, melancholy, but informed style whereby Foster talks philosophically about feeling the pain of life. I loved that scene. It was my favorite scene in the movie, actually.
The transition from funeral to wedding was meant to show that life does go on, and so must we. Baio's skateboarding through a pack of goons and outrunning them was meant to show us that the troubled times will pass, and we are meant to get through them, to better times.
The whole metaphor of "moving on," and the procession of life, is present throughout the film, and serves to give us hope, in the end.
I like this movie, though I do not watch it often, as it tends to make me melancholy.
It shouldn't be viewed by young children, and probably only those raised in the 1970's-80's would want to.
It rates a 7.4/10 from...
the Fiend :.
This film teaches us how to let go, even when it is painful, and does so with a sweet, melancholy, but informed style whereby Foster talks philosophically about feeling the pain of life. I loved that scene. It was my favorite scene in the movie, actually.
The transition from funeral to wedding was meant to show that life does go on, and so must we. Baio's skateboarding through a pack of goons and outrunning them was meant to show us that the troubled times will pass, and we are meant to get through them, to better times.
The whole metaphor of "moving on," and the procession of life, is present throughout the film, and serves to give us hope, in the end.
I like this movie, though I do not watch it often, as it tends to make me melancholy.
It shouldn't be viewed by young children, and probably only those raised in the 1970's-80's would want to.
It rates a 7.4/10 from...
the Fiend :.
Teen Angst and growing up in the 70's!
NutzieFagin21 August 2012
Ahhh those teen age memories! My friends and I getting together at each others houses for sleepovers. Telling each other our deepest secrets and confiding our dreams. Battling our parents while trying to just have a good time and never NEVER trust anyone over 30!!
Foxes is one of those movies that make us remember those bittersweet memories of growing pains and still trying to avoid getting into trouble. I did not grow up in L.A but I can relate to these characters in the movie. The cast and acting is really not too bad considering they are young people in the drama field. A young Jodie Foster as Jeannie who is the central character trying to keep herself and her friends sane while battling parents and the dangers of society (boys, social acceptance, high school and just anything teenagers have to face) Her best friend Annie, is a teen just hell bent on a course of self destruction, who Jeannie constantly bails out of trouble. The other two girls, Madge and Deidre are desperately trying to find their place in life by seeking social acceptance (losing virginity) and finding their one special love in their lives! Scott Baio (anyone still remember him?) He was hot property playing Cha Chi in Happy Days is a skate boarding (very popular in the 70's) boy teenager who is always on the prowl for a good time. Also look for a very YOUNG Laura Dern in the party scene! The script which was unbelievably always rewritten is very mediocre with some sappy lines. When Jeannie's Mom, played by Sally Kellerman is criticizing Jeannnie for getting into trouble, all of a sudden she says "You're all so beautiful--my hips, I hate my hips" I guess even adults go thru their growing pains as well.
The soundtrack should be on a collectors list! It is very hard to find in stores and probably only available on vinyl. Donna Summer's haunting song "On The Radio is featured. It gives the film a very thoughtful feel and sometimes a sadness. The ending of the film has a very sad feel to it. We all survive our teen years but their is some sad memories that will always haunt us. Foxes is a film that seems to force us to reflect on those years and review what good or bad choices that we have made.---even if it makes us laugh or cry. This is a film for any teenager going into the growing pains and for any adult that wants to sit back and remember fond youth.
Foxes is one of those movies that make us remember those bittersweet memories of growing pains and still trying to avoid getting into trouble. I did not grow up in L.A but I can relate to these characters in the movie. The cast and acting is really not too bad considering they are young people in the drama field. A young Jodie Foster as Jeannie who is the central character trying to keep herself and her friends sane while battling parents and the dangers of society (boys, social acceptance, high school and just anything teenagers have to face) Her best friend Annie, is a teen just hell bent on a course of self destruction, who Jeannie constantly bails out of trouble. The other two girls, Madge and Deidre are desperately trying to find their place in life by seeking social acceptance (losing virginity) and finding their one special love in their lives! Scott Baio (anyone still remember him?) He was hot property playing Cha Chi in Happy Days is a skate boarding (very popular in the 70's) boy teenager who is always on the prowl for a good time. Also look for a very YOUNG Laura Dern in the party scene! The script which was unbelievably always rewritten is very mediocre with some sappy lines. When Jeannie's Mom, played by Sally Kellerman is criticizing Jeannnie for getting into trouble, all of a sudden she says "You're all so beautiful--my hips, I hate my hips" I guess even adults go thru their growing pains as well.
The soundtrack should be on a collectors list! It is very hard to find in stores and probably only available on vinyl. Donna Summer's haunting song "On The Radio is featured. It gives the film a very thoughtful feel and sometimes a sadness. The ending of the film has a very sad feel to it. We all survive our teen years but their is some sad memories that will always haunt us. Foxes is a film that seems to force us to reflect on those years and review what good or bad choices that we have made.---even if it makes us laugh or cry. This is a film for any teenager going into the growing pains and for any adult that wants to sit back and remember fond youth.
Boring, dumb, a total waste of time...
eric29cocoanuts16 April 2004
I could never stand watching Happy Days after Chachi joined the cast, so I knew I was in trouble when the best scene in this movie featured Scott Baio (a skateboard chase scene!). Jodie Foster in her first "grown-up" role turns in her usual professional performance but that is no excuse for this boring mess. Two hours out of my life that I'll never get back! No noteworthy characters, unbelievable storyline, questionable editing and horrendous cinematography but worst of all, I couldn't have cared less. The story of California teens in the 1970's, where the kids live miserable lives and all their parents are idiots. Don't waste your time watching this ugly excuse for a movie.
If You Lived It, You Love It...
eadaoin710 May 2004
If you weren't there, then unfortunately this movie will be beyond compassion for you. Which as I say is a shame because although some of the acting is amateurish, it is meant to be for realism. Let's face it--in real life, we don't say things in an exacting or perfect way, even when we mean to. In this sense, it works. This, however, does not apply to our "known" actors in this film, notably Jodie Foster (born a natural). The fact that the other 3 girls are not accomplished only adds to the story--Jodie plays the glue that struggles to keep their friendship close, even with the obvious feeling of fatality. Meaning that no matter how close friends are, eventually there are some people that just fade away, no matter how you try.
And therein is the core of the movie. It's not about partying, it's not about sexuality, but about these 4 girls and their final time as still young girls before they have to go the world alone.
If you have ever had a friendship like that in your life, you will feel this movie--it will mean a lot to you, no matter what era it is set in, or what era you grew up in. We all knew these girls in school, or at the very least knew of them. We all knew the frustrated virgin, half wanting to hold onto childhood and half wanting desperately to grow up and thinking that will do it for her. We all knew the boy-crazy one, the fashion plate whose vanity hides her fear of the world, her fear of acceptance. We all knew the party girl, the one they whispered about, with tales of not only her sad home life but of her notorious exploits. And we all knew the "mother figure", the one a little more real, a little more grounded, a little more sad because she knew what would happen. Maybe you were one of those girls. Maybe, like me, you had been each one at one time or another...
This film really captures that fragile time in life when want, needs, pressures, womanhood, childhood, the world and loneliness are all embodied in each female's head, each factor on the precipice. Which aspect do you hang on to? What do you toss over the edge, no matter how you may want to hold on? And how painful is goodbye to everything you've known? That's what this movie is--steps into womanhood while clinging onto childhood, and how damn tough it is to keep walking. If you were there, you know...and love this film, as I do. Aching and tenderly done. A fine piece of captured femininity.
And therein is the core of the movie. It's not about partying, it's not about sexuality, but about these 4 girls and their final time as still young girls before they have to go the world alone.
If you have ever had a friendship like that in your life, you will feel this movie--it will mean a lot to you, no matter what era it is set in, or what era you grew up in. We all knew these girls in school, or at the very least knew of them. We all knew the frustrated virgin, half wanting to hold onto childhood and half wanting desperately to grow up and thinking that will do it for her. We all knew the boy-crazy one, the fashion plate whose vanity hides her fear of the world, her fear of acceptance. We all knew the party girl, the one they whispered about, with tales of not only her sad home life but of her notorious exploits. And we all knew the "mother figure", the one a little more real, a little more grounded, a little more sad because she knew what would happen. Maybe you were one of those girls. Maybe, like me, you had been each one at one time or another...
This film really captures that fragile time in life when want, needs, pressures, womanhood, childhood, the world and loneliness are all embodied in each female's head, each factor on the precipice. Which aspect do you hang on to? What do you toss over the edge, no matter how you may want to hold on? And how painful is goodbye to everything you've known? That's what this movie is--steps into womanhood while clinging onto childhood, and how damn tough it is to keep walking. If you were there, you know...and love this film, as I do. Aching and tenderly done. A fine piece of captured femininity.
A Supurbly Shot and Scored Story About Growing Up in L.A.'s Fast Lane the 80s
Rack-Focus26 March 2005
"Foxes" is a serious look at the consequences of growing up too fast in the 1980s. And 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 that's well worth watching.
The film follows four Southern California girls as they move through a rootless existence of sex and drugs and devoid of parents. The teens spend their days in and out of school and their nights at parties, concerts, or out on the street. Seldom are they home because instant gratification is a pill, party, or boy away.
But rather than condemning them, the film is sympathetic, blaming absent, uncaring adults for forcing the 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 for what follows. We see the girls asleep at daybreak 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 movie picks up speed as the girls head off to school and to life. Annie (Runaway rocker Cherie Currie) is the wild child who lives for the next party or pill. Deirdre (Kandice Stroh) is the boy crazy drama queen. Madge (Marlilyn Stroh) 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 holding her divorced and desperate man hunting mother in line (Sally Kellerman).
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 Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill haven't hurt the movie.
The cinematography is simply stunning, with breathtaking filtered shots of the L.A. basin at dawn, dusk and at night. Giorgio Moroder adds a 80s soundtrack featuring the likes of Donna Summer and 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 perhaps like Bowling for Soup's song "1985," they just hit a wall.
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 that's well worth watching.
The film follows four Southern California girls as they move through a rootless existence of sex and drugs and devoid of parents. The teens spend their days in and out of school and their nights at parties, concerts, or out on the street. Seldom are they home because instant gratification is a pill, party, or boy away.
But rather than condemning them, the film is sympathetic, blaming absent, uncaring adults for forcing the 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 for what follows. We see the girls asleep at daybreak 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 movie picks up speed as the girls head off to school and to life. Annie (Runaway rocker Cherie Currie) is the wild child who lives for the next party or pill. Deirdre (Kandice Stroh) is the boy crazy drama queen. Madge (Marlilyn Stroh) 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 holding her divorced and desperate man hunting mother in line (Sally Kellerman).
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 Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill haven't hurt the movie.
The cinematography is simply stunning, with breathtaking filtered shots of the L.A. basin at dawn, dusk and at night. Giorgio Moroder adds a 80s soundtrack featuring the likes of Donna Summer and 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 perhaps like Bowling for Soup's song "1985," they just hit a wall.
A movie full of horrible people
jellopuke17 May 2021
So this movie is about 16 year olds living alone, doing drugs, skipping class, and sleeping around. Nobody is someone you can root for and there's no plot, just little vignette. Not having been alive in the 70's I can't say if its true to life, but there's so much here that just seemed a little too far out. Like the part where the mom moves out so that the 16 year old Jodie Foster can live alone. Like uh, really? Who would do that? Also, I was cheering for Cherie Curie to die at the end because she was totally useless, a burnout at 15. Wow, great life there sister.
Solid soundtrack and I guess an evocative time, but it';s hardly a movie about people you root for or want to spend any time with. The Angel cameo was neat though.
Solid soundtrack and I guess an evocative time, but it';s hardly a movie about people you root for or want to spend any time with. The Angel cameo was neat though.
The 70s were such a different time for teenage girls!
moderniste3 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I loved, and still love this movie. When it came out, I was 12, and living a rather sheltered existence in Sacramento, which was very much like a Northern Californian version of the SoCal's "The Valley".
This movie does a very realistic job of portraying how different things were for teenagers back in that era. Today's teens have been raised by parents who've bought into the idea that they need to be around their kids 24/7--the whole attachment parenting thing. Young kids spend most of their time around their adult parents, and if they do hang out with other kids, they are highly supervised "play dates". They grow into teens who may have some online freedom, but most likely are regimented into structured "programs"--lessons, classes, teams or clubs with high degrees of adult supervision. Parents often try their hardest to be seen as "friends", with the hope that their teen will share every little last thing about their lives, so different from the generation gap I recall in the late 70s/early 80s when I was that age.
And these parents have very little of an adult life outside of their precious darlings-- so unlike what I recall of my parents and their large circle of friends with their frequent dinner parties and kid-free vacations and camping trips. Today's parent would have a guilt trip of epic proportions if it was even suggested that they spend adult time away from the kiddies.
They might just be turned in to CPS if they allowed their teenagers to have even the tiniest amount of freedom as the 4 "Foxes" did in this thoughtful and revealing movie. Teenage girls aimlessly driving around, taking buses by themselves down to Hollywood, and having a much older boyfriend with a cool adults-not-welcome party pad would simply never happen in today's helicopter-parented middle classes.
My teenage years in the early 80s weren't quite as free as these girls had it, but I remember endless nights spent driving around in a car full of friends with a "suitcase" of cheap Shafer beer, often ending up at the party house belonging to a bunch of 20- something guys--with nary a parent in sight, and no constant texting or calling ones' parents every hour. There was plenty of beer and pot, and lots of kids were having sexual relationships. And yet somehow we all made it--my group of pals all went to university; no one got arrested, addicted or pregnant.
Kids like Annie who overdid it were around--though not many suffered the same extreme fate as Cheri Currie's character did. Ironically, Annie was the one with the MOST parental involvement, albeit an abusive authoritarian jerk of a father, and yet she has the toughest road to follow.
Jodie Foster is, unsurprisingly, excellent, playing yet another smart, capable and sophisticated-beyond-her-years teen, unflinchingly blasé about sex, booze, and 'ludes until she needs to be emotional about Annie's behavior that is getting her closer and closer to being involuntarily committed to a mental ward. Foster's sheer intelligence is so evident even in those early years; it's no surprise to me that she became such a huge success, and so well-respected for the depth and excellence of both her acting and directing.
I really do love this movie, but boy howdy does it highlight how much society has changed in regards to its views of childhood, teenagerdom, and adults' roles. I must admit that I'm rather nostalgic for those freer times when there was more of a healthy boundary between teenagers and their parents position in their lives. "Foxes" is a stylish yet very realistic look at Valley girls before they were "Valley Girls".
This movie does a very realistic job of portraying how different things were for teenagers back in that era. Today's teens have been raised by parents who've bought into the idea that they need to be around their kids 24/7--the whole attachment parenting thing. Young kids spend most of their time around their adult parents, and if they do hang out with other kids, they are highly supervised "play dates". They grow into teens who may have some online freedom, but most likely are regimented into structured "programs"--lessons, classes, teams or clubs with high degrees of adult supervision. Parents often try their hardest to be seen as "friends", with the hope that their teen will share every little last thing about their lives, so different from the generation gap I recall in the late 70s/early 80s when I was that age.
And these parents have very little of an adult life outside of their precious darlings-- so unlike what I recall of my parents and their large circle of friends with their frequent dinner parties and kid-free vacations and camping trips. Today's parent would have a guilt trip of epic proportions if it was even suggested that they spend adult time away from the kiddies.
They might just be turned in to CPS if they allowed their teenagers to have even the tiniest amount of freedom as the 4 "Foxes" did in this thoughtful and revealing movie. Teenage girls aimlessly driving around, taking buses by themselves down to Hollywood, and having a much older boyfriend with a cool adults-not-welcome party pad would simply never happen in today's helicopter-parented middle classes.
My teenage years in the early 80s weren't quite as free as these girls had it, but I remember endless nights spent driving around in a car full of friends with a "suitcase" of cheap Shafer beer, often ending up at the party house belonging to a bunch of 20- something guys--with nary a parent in sight, and no constant texting or calling ones' parents every hour. There was plenty of beer and pot, and lots of kids were having sexual relationships. And yet somehow we all made it--my group of pals all went to university; no one got arrested, addicted or pregnant.
Kids like Annie who overdid it were around--though not many suffered the same extreme fate as Cheri Currie's character did. Ironically, Annie was the one with the MOST parental involvement, albeit an abusive authoritarian jerk of a father, and yet she has the toughest road to follow.
Jodie Foster is, unsurprisingly, excellent, playing yet another smart, capable and sophisticated-beyond-her-years teen, unflinchingly blasé about sex, booze, and 'ludes until she needs to be emotional about Annie's behavior that is getting her closer and closer to being involuntarily committed to a mental ward. Foster's sheer intelligence is so evident even in those early years; it's no surprise to me that she became such a huge success, and so well-respected for the depth and excellence of both her acting and directing.
I really do love this movie, but boy howdy does it highlight how much society has changed in regards to its views of childhood, teenagerdom, and adults' roles. I must admit that I'm rather nostalgic for those freer times when there was more of a healthy boundary between teenagers and their parents position in their lives. "Foxes" is a stylish yet very realistic look at Valley girls before they were "Valley Girls".
White Trash on Parade
dansview7 February 2014
If you want to say that there were girls like this at that time and in that place, that's fine. I know there were and this is a movie about them. But let's not ever say that just because you have little parental supervision and you live in the Valley during the disco era, does not mean that decadence is your only option.
You could choose to pursue academics, school sports or extracurricular activities. You could get a part time job,explore church, do volunteer work or practice a musical instrument. You could be in a committed relationship or listen to classical music.
These girls are choosing the White Trash option. None of their parents are unemployed or living in a trailer.
I always wonder about the hygiene of such kids. It's not like they did a lot of flossing or ate whole foods. They vomited, ate junk food, smoked, drank, did drugs and slept around. Wouldn't their breath reek and their clothes be crusty? Disgusting.
I think it's completely ridiculous to say that this is the way teens of that era were in So Cal. Some were, but plenty weren't.
Having said all that, this movie had grit and that was its' best quality. The street scenes, the freestyle dialog, and the concert footage were real and made an impact. Real people do not live in a polished way, even the educated, and real people do not speak from a script.
Great opening and utilization of Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder music. Also nice use of a climax that would inevitably lead to a permanent change in course for the girls. Actions have consequences. The blonde chick was a train wreck waiting to embrace her fate.
While it's true that the sheer size, commercialism, and heat of the Valley can lead to alienation, it didn't have to be that way. Back then there were plenty of parks, book stores, skating rinks, and single family homes with pools and orange trees. You just had to choose your friends wisely and stay focused on productive pursuits.
You could choose to pursue academics, school sports or extracurricular activities. You could get a part time job,explore church, do volunteer work or practice a musical instrument. You could be in a committed relationship or listen to classical music.
These girls are choosing the White Trash option. None of their parents are unemployed or living in a trailer.
I always wonder about the hygiene of such kids. It's not like they did a lot of flossing or ate whole foods. They vomited, ate junk food, smoked, drank, did drugs and slept around. Wouldn't their breath reek and their clothes be crusty? Disgusting.
I think it's completely ridiculous to say that this is the way teens of that era were in So Cal. Some were, but plenty weren't.
Having said all that, this movie had grit and that was its' best quality. The street scenes, the freestyle dialog, and the concert footage were real and made an impact. Real people do not live in a polished way, even the educated, and real people do not speak from a script.
Great opening and utilization of Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder music. Also nice use of a climax that would inevitably lead to a permanent change in course for the girls. Actions have consequences. The blonde chick was a train wreck waiting to embrace her fate.
While it's true that the sheer size, commercialism, and heat of the Valley can lead to alienation, it didn't have to be that way. Back then there were plenty of parks, book stores, skating rinks, and single family homes with pools and orange trees. You just had to choose your friends wisely and stay focused on productive pursuits.
Yawn...
peace_on_earth6 January 2022
Nothing happens in this movie. Its so boring. We're told in the synopsis there's sex, drugs and a great soundtrack. None of which is true. Would be one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I suggest watching Little Darlings which was released the same year.
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