Customer Reviews

Reform School Girls [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Reform School girls is an over the top woman in prison cult classic that is FUN FUN FUN to watch. I watched this movie 100's of times growing up in the mid 80's, and it still pleases today. Wendy O Williams is completely mesmerizing to watch, although her acting is pretty bad to say the least. Still the film manages to entertain with its completely unbelievable premise. I love this movie. Pat Ast and Wendy O Williams make this movie what it is, and why Sybil Danning got the DVD cover I'll never know (she's barely in the film).

Pat and Wendy (both who have since passed) make great villains though, and are thoroughly enjoyable to watch over and over again. If you like low budget, entertaining prison films with lots of women, violence & nudity, then you will love Reform School Girls. The soundtrack is pretty awesome too, and showcases W.O.W's real talent as a musician and performer.

CHECK OUT THE DVD COMMENTARY! IT'S PRETTY FUNNY AND ENTERTAINING TO LISTEN TO!

Ok, this movie has no real plot or point to it, but for T & A and some classic Pat Ast moments, this is the movie to see. This movie is one of my Top 10 flicks of all time. It has a kickin' soundtrack as well as my three favorite things from the MPAA ratings: Sexuality, graphic language and violence. Basically a good girl gone bad, thrown into a reform school and her misdaventures there with the bullying gang of female thugs ran by the late Wendy O. Williams. Throw in the mean person in charge (Pat Ast) and Sybil Danning as the warden and you are in for around 90 minute's of fun.

There's something about girls-in-prison films that I just can't get enough of, and this one is certainly a winner in that regard! No, it's hardly an accurate portrayal of life behind bars for young females --- that would be boring --- instead, this one has a bunch of hotties in lingerie being preyed on by a gang of lesbian tough-girls led by the toughest girl of them all: Wendy O. Williams! And Wendy is AWESOME in that role!

Wendy sets her sights on one pretty young thing, and in what I thought was a really hot scene she and her cohorts strip this girl completely naked and then brand her on the butt with a branding iron made from a coat-hanger. I'm sorry, but I just LOVE that kind of stuff!

Of course, there's the pretty girl (Linda Carol) who sets herself up as the cellblock's good girl, and she inevitably battles Wendy throughout the movie. Pat Ast is the psycho prison matron, and Sybil Danning is the warden. I was disappointed that Sybil didn't play more of a dykey-warden --- I mean, she certainly looked the part. Pat Ast, meanwhile, is just psycho. Anyway, as chicks-behind-bars-films go, this one was a winner!

As a serious women in prison film collector, I can state that no other film than 'reform school girls' better epitomizes what the genre is about more completely.
It has all the humorous elements one would expect in a such a film; the wicked wardeness, the bad butch girls, the helpless girl, the kitten stomp, shower scenes, fights, brandings, DDT delousing and did I mention shower scenes? Where do girls in a juvenile facility get all that fancy langerie anyway?
Wendy O'Willimas puts in a convincing and moving performance as a wicked correctional official and seems to delight in her evil role. Sybil Danning makes an extended cameo that was mandatory for a film of this type in the 1980's.
Although it lacks the gladitorial competitions of 'Lust for Freedom' or the exploitative child birth scene of 'Bad Girls Dormitory', it is cheerful and builds up gradually to a frenzy of revolutionary fervor. This film will definitely not disappoint.
This is also a good film for those new to the genre and those who enjoy the excesses of the 80's.

I put the DVD in today and because of recent bad experiences I decided to compare this "Widescreen" version to an old VHS fullscreen version. Of course, the DVD version is actually cropped when compared to the Fullscreen VHS version, but the weird thing is that neither is consistent. Both the DVD and the Fullscreen version have different scenes where the top or bottom of the frame is cut off. One scene it will be the bottom or top of the Widescreen DVD version and the next scene it will be a little off the top or bottom in the VHS version. WEIRD! Example: There is a scene where Linda Carol is laid down in the back of a truck after pretending to faint. In the DVD version when she goes to read a note (watch her sox) you can see part of both of her ankles. In the VHS version you can see part of one ankle and tiny bit of the other. Though both have issues, I would say the DVD is cropped throughout the film and the VHS only seems to be in parts. Example: In that same scene you can see more of the top of the frame in the VHS version.

Now, I know this seems trivial for a "B" title, but I am starting to notice these framing issues more and more on DVDs I buy from all categorys. 2 other recent examples are Terminator 3 Widescreen and Trading Places Widescreen. I think it is false advertising when I buy a product that says it is Widescreen and I get a picture that is cropped. It justifys Fullscreen buyers who incorrectly, I thought, say "I don't buy widescreen because the black bars at the top and bottom cut off the picture." I know thats wrong, but apparently DVD manufacturers are starting to ignore it more and more. I guess it is just easier to slap black bars on a fullscreen version and say it is widescreen. Hey, it saves time and effort so who cares what the customer thinks!

***Note the cropping in this title is minor compared to the cropping in Terminator 3. Actually, it seems pretty minor overall, but it is cropped and that drives me crazy.

Now that is out of the way I can talk about the movie itself. Insane Fun! A classic! I don't like to delve into plot because I don't like to spoil, but I do like to give reason for you too watch or stay away. If you like women in prison movies and you like to laugh then this is your movie. If you like shower scenes then this is your movie. If you like insane relationships and over-the-top villians then this is your movie. If you like films with meaning, powerful performances, well written dialogue, hidden truths, or some sort of enlightening message then run as fast as you can away from this movie. This film requires no thinking, other than if the framing is off. This film only asks you to use your eyes to see what it shows and your ears to hear what it says, but you don't actually have to listen that closely.

Special Features-Alright. They went a little further than most by adding commentary, but I haven't listened to it so I can't tell you how it is. Maybe that is where I'll hear answers to my framing complaints.

I watched this dvd last night and here are ten (10) observations:

1. This film is probably not going to inspire anyone to do anything. No one is going to say "Gee, seeing Reform School Girls" was the turning point in my life and that's why I'm so successful today." This is probably not likely, but who knows... Stranger things have happened.

2. There's not a lot to think about here. "Reform School Girls" is not exactly intellectually challenging. The best thing to do while watching this is to have a beer and maybe start doing the laundry.

3. The cover for the dvd shows Sybil Danning, but Wendy O. Williams got the top billing. I could care less about Sybil Danning. What I would have liked to see on the cover would have been Williams wearing shaving cream and electrical tape with a chain saw. That would have been a great cover.

4. Wendy O. Williams? acting ability was pretty one-dimensional, but that's okay because the film isn't supposed to make any sense anyway. I especially like the part where Williams gets on top of the runaway bus, because it absolutely made no sense at all.

5. The end title song, "It's My Life" was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. This is an example of how the ideas of Gene Simmons have systematically perverted the nature of our culture for years.

6. If you buy this dvd, watch the trailers first. They're funny.

7. The Commentary by director Tom DeSimone and humorist Martin Lewis is pretty good too.

8. If you're a Wendy O. Williams fan, this dvd is worth having. In the last part of the film, she basically goes nuts, and I think it's commendable that someone was able to capture that on film.

9. As spoof, "Reform School Girls" works pretty well, on a very simple level. Other than Williams, the characters really don't mean anything and the story could easily have been replaced with anything else about women in prison.

10. The bottom line is, "Reform School Girls" is a far more interesting and plausible story than "The English Patient".

Ahhh,the good ole days of 80's exploitation films;gratuitous nudity,lots of lingerie,lesbian overtones,tons of bleached blond cuties with mile high hair.It all comes together in this absurd spoof of bad girls in prison.The movie never pretends to be anything more than what it is,which is a total goofoff.From the cruel,grotesque,300lb whopper head guard(Pat Ast)who delights in torturing the helpless girls to the androgynous S&M inclined warden;to the 35 year old teenager(Wendy Williams);to the good girl who made a mistake and landed in the slammer(Linda Carol)this flick has more cliches than you can count.But the cliches are apparent early so that an annoying plot line doesn't distract you from checking out all the cleavage and barely there outfits.The film even includes a branding scene in a bathroom and of course,wrestling and fights.For those who can take this type of cinema for what it is it will definitely prove delightful.

This movie it's really impressive, the girls are the most gorgeous I've ever seen in a female prison movie. Sybill Danning looks perfect, and Sherri Stonner with her babydoll face and innocence. The shower scenes are very gruesome. Unfortunately the medical check is short for a movie like this. But if you enjoy watching girls with few clothes and nice bodies, this is your film.

This is a WAY-Y-Y over-the-top send-up of girls-in-prison movies. Perfectly cast, it's a comic book on film and great fun to watch. Of course, the scene stealers are Warhol alumni Pat Ast as the matron Edna and the Plasmatics' Wendy O.Williams as "Charlie". Both of these ladies are gone now but their contributions live on in this cult classic. Fast paced and with a great soundtrack, you can watch this over and over and still pick up stuff every time. Unfortunately, there is too much female nudity (for a change) that distracts rather than titillates but this is still a rocking movie. The climax is a kicker as well. Good treatment from the folks at Anchor Bay.

Some friends and I rented this movie because it looked like trashy fun, and it is. If you like cheap movies that make fun of a genre as well as themselves, this is the flick for you. Acting? Variable. Plot? Predictable. Fun? Hell, yes! And C'mon -- it has WENDY O. WILLIAMS; how can you NOT love this movie?!?!? Get your chick friends together, bring out the junk food, and have fun watching and screaming at this highly entertaining fluff.