Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982)

The media and disaffected teens mistake the acerbic rants of an obnoxious teenage punk rocker as a rallying cry for the women of America, launching her and her talentless group to national stardom.

Director:

Lou Adler

Writer:

Nancy Dowd

Stars:

Peter Donat, Diane Lane, Marin Kanter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Donat	...	Harley Dennis
Diane Lane	...	Corinne Burns
Marin Kanter	...	Tracy Burns
Laura Dern	...	Jessica McNeil
Christine Lahti	...	Aunt Linda
Janet Wright	...	Aunt Linda's Friend - Brenda
Mia Bendixsen	...	Pregnant Girl in Ladies Room
Stuart Ferguson	...	Gold Key D.J.
Ray Winstone	...	Billy - Vocals for The Looters
Paul Simonon	...	Johnny - Bassist for The Looters
Steve Jones	...	Steve - Guitarist for The Looters
Paul Cook	...	Danny - Drummer for The Looters
Fee Waybill	...	Lou Corpse - Vocals for The Metal Corpses (as John 'Fee' Waybill)
Vince Welnick	...	Jerry Jervey - Guitarist for The Metal Corpses
Vern Willis	...	Corpses Bass

Storyline

Corrine Burns retreats far into plans for her band, The Fabulous Stains, after her mother's death. So far that she gets them (she and two cousins) on a tour with a washed-out glam-rock group and a rising British punk band, radically changes her appearance, attracts a cult following and national media attention. With luck like this, what could go wrong?

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Plot Keywords:

punk | punk rock | rock band | punk rocker | cult | 

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Taglines:

She can't fool all the fans all of the time ...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1982 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Coquitlam Centre Mall, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance, Red Stripe

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is a play on the Rolling Stones film, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones. Original titles considered were "All Washed Up" and "The Professionals."

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Quotes

Corinne Burns: Corinne's not my name.
Harley Dennis: What is it?
Corinne Burns: It's Third Degree Burns.

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Connections

Featured in Making of 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains' (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Conned Again"
Written by Paul Cook and Steve Jones
Performed by The Looters
Courtesy of Virgin Records

User Reviews

Tough, scrappy film has amazing moments...

Unreleased theatrical feature financed by Paramount was once an '80s staple on the USA network (in their weekend "Night Flight" movie slot). It's a satirical comedy-drama with music which finds angry, rebellious teen Diane Lane caught by reality-TV cameras getting fired from a fast food restaurant; soon, she, her sister, and a cousin hit the road with their barely-rehearsed punk band and find failure, success, unintended exploitation, and life's little ironies outside of their blue-collar town. Reminiscent of the later "This is Spinal Tap", the film has a sense of humor far more sly, less forced and obvious. Lane is so tough at first, one doesn't know how to respond to her (she pushes everyone away); somewhere down the line she begins to soften and becomes more flexible, and you see the desperation underneath her scowl--you see her pathos just once, when she gives the bus-driver money for his brother (a subtle scene that speaks volumes). Harsh in both its writing and directing, unblinking in its teenage hostility, the film still manages to be funny (intentionally so) and with a cutting edge; it's like a breath of fresh air to the disenfranchised. *** from ****