Reform School Girls (1986)

Director:

Tom DeSimone

Writers:

Jack Cummins (additional dialogue)
Tom DeSimone (writer)

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

Some Get Tough. Some Go Insane. Some Will Die...

Plot:

Jenny is sent to a women's reform school. It is run by evil warden Sutter and her henchwoman Edna. Jenny...

Plot Keywords:

Warden | Escape | Women | Evil | Bully

Cast

Linda Carol	...	Jenny
Wendy O. Williams	...	Charlie Chambliss
Pat Ast	...	Edna
Sybil Danning	...	Warden Sutter
Charlotte McGinnis	...	Dr. Norton
Sherri Stoner	...	Lisa
Denise Gordy	...	Claudie
Laurie Schwartz	...	Nicky
Tiffany Helm	...	Andrea 'Fish' Eldridge
Darcy DeMoss	...	Karen 'Knox' Charmin
Andrea Darnell	...	Paula
Robin Watkins	...	Kelly
Winifred Freedman	...	Terri
James Staszkiel	...	Truck Driver
Fred D. Scott	...	Judge Carter

Also Known As:

Naked Birds (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18

Company:

Balcor Film Investors

Trivia:

Wendy O. Williams would come to work and do 200 sit-ups before coming onto the set.

Quotes:

Sutter: Your time's double!
Charlie: So's your chin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lost Boys (1987)

Soundtrack:

Reform School Girls

An enjoyably outrageous W.I.P. parody.

Unlucky Jennifer (Linda Carol) is busted after assisting her boyfriend in an armed robbery, and sent to Pridemore, a juvenile detention facility. The usual sleazy shenanigans ensue, including the struggle against the obese and flamboyant matron (Pat Ast, a delight in a deliberately over-the-top performance) and the uptight warden (an enjoyable but under-utilized Sybil Danning).

Writer / director Tom DeSimone had already had the films "Prison Girls" and "The Concrete Jungle" under his belt, so his attempt to send up the genre is especially noteworthy. Everything is exaggerated for comedic effect, with Carol necessarily playing her part straight so that there will be at least some sympathy for her character. But the usual clichés get lampooned effectively, and it's a nicely tawdry serving of T & A and sleaze. Some of the biggest criticisms arise out of the casting of tough-as-nails rocker Wendy O. Williams as a teenager, when she was already well into her thirties, but it fits into the whole irreverent approach to the material.

It's never less than a fun, entertaining ride that offers a great climax and plenty of rock songs to underscore the action. It's appreciable that a number of the girls are lookers; it makes them so much fun to watch. I found it rousing and had a high old time hoping that those nasty villains would get what they had coming.

It's 94 minutes of straight-up lowbrow B-movie entertainment. I had a blast watching it.

8/10