Bad Girls (1994)

Four prostitutes join together to travel the Old West.

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers:

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

Stars:

Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Madeleine Stowe	...	Cody Zamora
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Anita Crown
Andie MacDowell	...	Eileen Spenser
Drew Barrymore	...	Lilly Laronette
James Russo	...	Kid Jarrett
James Le Gros	...	William Tucker (as James LeGros)
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

Storyline

When saloon prostitute Cody Zamora rescues her friend Anita from an abusive customer by killing him, she is sentenced to hang. However, Anita and their two friends Eileen and Lilly rescue Cody and the four make a run for Texas, pursued by Graves and O'Brady, two Pinkerton detectives hired to track them. When Cody withdraws her savings from a Texas bank, the women believe they can now start a new life in Oregon. But Cody's old partner Kid Jarrett takes Cody's money when his gang robs the bank, and so the four so-called "Honky- Tonk Harlots" set out to recover the money, with the Pinkertons hot on their trail.

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Plot Keywords:

western town | small town | female protagonist | texas | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for western violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Belles de l'Ouest

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,012,200, 24 April 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,240,435

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,The Ruddy Morgan Organization

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the backstage reshuffles and rewrites led to Drew Barrymore labeling her experience working on the film as "the pits".

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Goofs

In Aqua Dulce, the Pinkertons say they are looking for a fugitive from Colorado Territory. Colorado has been a state since 1876, approximately fifteen years before the setting of this film.

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Quotes

Eileen: Do I look like a criminal type?
Tucker: No ma'am, you don't.

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Alternate Versions

An unrated video version featuring additional footage is available in the USA.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Bad Girls/The Inkwell/Naked in New York/Brainscan/Surviving the Game (1994)

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Soundtracks

Streets of Laredo
Traditional
Solo Guitar James Le Gros

User Reviews

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.