Bad Girls (1994/I)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers (WGA):

Albert S. Ruddy (story) &
Charles Finch (story) ...

Release Date:

22 April 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

It was a dangerous time to be a woman. And a good time to have friends.

Plot:

Four prostitutes join together to travel the Old West.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Gatling Gun | Revenge | Violence | Hanging

Cast

Madeleine Stowe	...	Cody Zamora
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Anita Crown
Andie MacDowell	...	Eileen Spenser
Drew Barrymore	...	Lilly Laronette
James Russo	...	Kid Jarrett
James LeGros	...	William Tucker
Robert Loggia	...	Frank Jarrett
Dermot Mulroney	...	Josh McCoy
Jim Beaver	...	Pinkerton Detective Graves
Nick Chinlund	...	Pinkerton Detective O'Brady
Neil Summers	...	Ned, Jarrett Gang
Daniel O'Haco	...	Roberto, Jarrett Gang
Richard Reyes	...	Rico, Jarrett Gang
Alex Kubik	...	Yuma, Jarrett Gang
Will MacMillan	...	Colonel Clayborne

MPAA:

Rated R for western violence. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company:

Ruddy Morgan Productions

Trivia:

The Set use for Kid Jarrett's hide-out was built for Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988). Kid Jarrett's room is the Alamo set interior,designed by Roger Ragland. The town is on location in Alamo Village, Bracketville, Texas, designed by Alfred Ybarra for The Alamo (1960). The Girls Camp scene is a close-up set built in 1959 for that film, also.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Kid takes Cody's money out of the bust of her dress, it can still be seen coming out of the bust line of her dress when she is getting onto the horse after Kid has left.

Quotes:

Eileen: [to Lily] I love you all the way to the moon and back, that's never going to change.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sideline Secrets (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Streets of Laredo

Cast off the shackles that bind women of the West

Jonathan Kaplan's Bad Girls leaves an interesting taste in my mouth. It is an energetic and fun film, offset by its ridiculous characters and plot. The believability factor in this flick is low, which encourages its audience to view it as a swirling maelstrom of metaphor and symbol. Woman, as defined by the early 90's, can overcome any impediment and still be beautiful, no need to become manly (and lose her femininity) to assert herself. The Western genre serves as a perfect tableau for this discourse because it is one traditionally dominated by men. Likewise, the men in Bad Girls each represent an institution of American culture that is dominated by men and their mentality, conveniently dispatched by the bad girls.

Four whores raise hell by killing a Colonel and running out of town, complete with unnecessary slow motion of Drew Barrymore shouting "heeyah!" and the humiliation of every man who crosses their path. The military, traditional justice, and Christianity are trampled upon, left wondering how these motivated and hard working women could escape their clutches. The film from here takes some twists and turns, and several complete circles. In short, the whores chase a dream of establishing a home for themselves around a mill that Mary Stuart Masterson's late husbands owned, countering the murderous advances of men with their own sexual flaunting. Gunfights, smarmy dialogue, pseudo-lesbianic encounters, and female flesh fill the film to to a near bursting capacity, much like Barrymore's bosom.

It is not what I would call a smart film, however it does present itself as an interesting fable about the empowerment of women by women who remain women. I would liken Bad Girls to that of the Freudian dreams of those who struggle against "the man." I feel that it deserves to be seen at least once.