Customer Reviews

Bonnie's Kids (Special Edition)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You can't get more 'drive-in' than this 70's chestnut from
General Film Releasing. In fact, that's where I first saw
it - and have not seen it since, until this fine dvd release
from Dark Sky. I know the film's title doesn't exactly sound
like promising exploitation fare, certainly not as attention
grabbing as what-would-have-been more aptly titled
'Desert Dolls' or 'Shotgun Sisters'. ('Bonnie's Kids' just sounds
like a bad sit-com) Anyway, this picture is extremely atypical
of its genre. It's got the sex, violence, nudity, shady South-
western characters of all types - and all of it handled
as chastely as any made-for-TV movie. Nothing special to
crow about, just good solid storytelling - and some decent
acting. Tiffany Bolling has one of her better roles here,
and young Robin Mattson sure was a cutie. Sharon Gless
(later of TV's Cagney and Lacey) makes her film debut as
a saucy waitress, and you get the usual sound character
work from Max Showalter as a traveling salesman and Leo
Gordon as a sexually-abusive stepfather. Alex Rocco and
Timothy Brown play a pair of cold hitmen that supposedly
inspired the pair in 'Pulp Fiction'. (Yeah, big surprise.
I haven't seen a Tarantino film yet that didn't rip-off
some much better 70's exploitation movie. Better in the
sense that those filmakers - like this picture's Arthur
Marks - made their masterpieces on about one-twentieth
the budget Tarantino gets, and plus had to handle their
own distribution as well!) But I digress...

About time a legit company put out this classic exploitation...this blows away the DVD-R I bought from Amazon (which wasn't a 'bad' copy). Can't imagine it looking any better (except blu-ray) but the tag on it claims 'special edition'...what is so special about it? There is a mini interview with the director and a couple of trailers-that's it! No commentary (would love to hear Tiffany Bolling's take on her cult status from the drive-in era), but at least we get a 1.85 anamorphic HD transfer! This classic to me is ALL about Tiffany!! She ranks up there with Claudia Jennings as the drive-in queen of the era's past. Man they don't make 'cheap' movies like this anymore...who needs a budget anyway? How about passion and the love of making a movie? That's what's so fun with Roger Corman films...cheap fun with sometimes a decent story. So I praise Dark Sky for FINALLY releasing this 'lost' drive in classic. They took the time, money, and effort to transfer this film wonderfully!! Enjoy this campy classic for ole times...

For those who love 1970's drive-in flicks, this is a very good one. "Bonnie" never appears, but her nubile daughters wreak havoc in the Southwest. Aside from Tiffany Bolling as the older daughter, soap star Robin Mattson is also alluring as the younger sister. The girls get involved with gangsters and other sleazy characters. There's some nudity, but nothing heavy.

Dark Sky Films provides an excellent letterboxed transfer of the film that is far superior to the old VHS version from the 1980's. There's also a fun video interview with writer/director Arthur Marks, who discusses this film and somes others (including THE ROOMMATES, which I hope that Dark Sky will release at a later date).

This is unquestionably yet another drive-in flick that has "inspired" Quentin Tarantino. The two hit men, one black and one white, were probably the template for the two hit men in PULP FICTION.

What a train wreck. This is a generalized Action/Crime exploitation film if you're into 70's exploitation flicks. Sisters Myra and Ellie try to win in this sadistic tale of shotgun (of course!) school girls, criminals, a drunk cop, an abusive step-father, lesbianism, and a scheming uncle. The acting isn't 100% bad for a cult film.

There aren't any characters to like; the only innocents in the movie are the kidnapped boy and a little girl. It is one of those lost flicks in the exploitation genre. It's a little sleazy, a little irritating and all around exploitative.

Much better than I was anticipating. If you like 70's schlock cinema, its definitely worth checking out.

This movie is pretty good. I think they exaggerated when they say theres a lot ot T&A but it does have some. The plot was good, and the acting was alright. All in all not a bad movie to watch or even buy.