Tag: Debbie Harry

PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNACHICKS – Review

With MICHAEL dominating the box office last weekend, are you in the mood for another musical movie? Not another “biopic”, instead, how about a rollicking documentary? Here’s just the (theatre) ticket. I’ll admit that my music knowledge is lacking, as the only “girls bands” in my limited “sphere” are the Go-Go’s and the Bangles (well, I just recalled Banarama). It turns out that when the Punk Rock craze made its way “across the pond” from Britain in the early 1980’s, a quartet (often a quintet) of talented young women from the Big Apple decided to “heed the call”. They mixed driving “metal” beats with lots of high energy and showmanship (or should it be “show-woman-ship”) and lots of humor, beginning with their act’s name. It’s all explained in PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNACHICKS.

The doc begins its story just a few years ago, as several of the original members are contemplating a reunion tour (the ole’ “We’re getting the band back together” bit). We’re quickly whisked away, back in time to NYC in the mid 1980s, a grimier and more dangerous era of that burg. That starting trio met in the school of performing arts from the FAME movie and TV show. They created songs inspired by favorite Tv shows like “The Brady Bunch” and hastily learned how to play their instruments (sort of the other way around for most bands). Their first gigs were chaotic (chants of “Show us your t#%&s” from the rowdy dudes), but they got their “mojo rising” and put together a wardrobe that defined their style: frizzed hair, spiked leather, and tutus. The last reflected a sense of humor, paired with “blacked-out” teeth and bold hair colors. Soon they’re touring the country with the Beastie Boys, the Ramones, and even the Go-Go’s. New members are brought in as some mainstays depart (many different drummers) as the road takes its toll with personality clashes and dramatic “affairs of the heart”. Things fizzled out at the start of a new century, when the ladies drifted apart to pursue new interests (the lead singer, Theo Kogan, was a Calvin Klein fashion model, while Gina Volpe went back into painting and design). Somehow their rabid fan base grew, and ignited a call for a return to live performances. The film profiles each band member and documents their qualms and excitement over going back “out there”.

Director/writer Ilya Chaiken has crafted a most informative and entertaining original story of this very influential band that more pop culture mavens (yours truly included) need to know about. The doc has a breezy, informal style that deftly meshes “talking head”-type interviews; besides the ladies, there’s the Go-Go’s Gina Schock, Miss Guy, and Debbie (Blondie) Harry! To recreate the time periods, Chaiken utilizes archival news footage (you can almost smell those NYC “mean streets), film footage from TIMES SQUARE, along with grainy Super 8mm (yeah) from the band’s collection (along with camcorder shots, sigh). The talented Ms. Volpe contributes some groovy underground comics-style animation over some photos (oh, and her art is fantastic). But the movie’s strength comes from the personal reflections of the members. Theo is perhaps the most articulate, Volpe is a bit more spirited, while Silver may be the most emotional as she frets over their stage return. Equally engaging is the unfiltered Becky West, a drummer from 89-94. We see her on a Howard Stern TV dating show sketch, and more importantly, we witness her “laying down the law” to some overly-aggressive “bros” at a venue. A most endearing “call back” is watching them encounter a huge subway photo from their “heyday”, now used as an ad. It seems that the ‘stage blood” rigged to make it seem as if their “monthly time” was “in sync” was airbrushed out. You bet they were edgy, though they have a sweet nostalgia for the hour spent in a camper crisscrossing the US and Mexico (the custom agents helped them out). As with many retrospectives of the time, “substances” play a big factor in the turmoil, along with romances (in the group and outsiders), which leads to their hiatus. It all paves the way for a delightful celebratory finale, though I would have loved some subtitles for the growly guttural lyric (I’m showing my age). Still, fans and “newbies” (guilty) will find much to enjoy in the rambunctious revelry of PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNACHICKS.


3 out of 4

PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNATICS is in select theatres, including St. Louis’ Hi-Pointe Theater for one night only at 8:30 pm on Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Divine in John Waters’ HAIRSPRAY Screening August 31st at .ZACK in St. Louis

”  At least try to act white on television. “

Culture Shock, a traveling film series, presents John Waters’ 1988 cult classic HAIRSPRAY starring Divine, Ricki Lake and Debbie Harry August 31st at 7pm at the .ZACK (3224 Locust Blvd, St Louis, MO 63103). A Facebook invite can be found HERE. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the door or purchased in advance HERE. There will be a Divine Look-a-like contest and the winner will compete with the best Divine look-a-like when the documentary I AM DIVINE screens at the Mad Art Gallery in October

A spiritied teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show. Any movie where the fat girl steals the dreamy heart throb from the “perfect” skinny girl is a favorite. This movie is empowering to big girls everywhere, even if they do have to shop at the “Hefty Hideaway.” And personally, I think Rikki Lake was much more entertaining before she lost all the weight. When was the last time you saw her talk show or saw her in a movie? John Waters may have his critics, but he sure knows how to direct a good cult classic.

Culture Shock: a traveling film series is an ongoing fundraiser for Helping Kids Together. HKT puts on events and programs for young people that get them active and involved in the arts and culture.

Long Live the New Flesh! VIDEODROME Midnights This Weekend at The Moolah!

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“The television screen is the retina of the mind’s eye.”

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VIDEODROME Screens Midnights this weekend (March 11th and 12th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of  Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series.

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Have you ever woken up in front of the TV and found yourself watching some really bizzare show? Take that premise a few steps further and you end up in David Cronenberg’s 1983 shocker VIDEODROME. A strong statement about the influence of mass media on human conscience, VIDEODROME is one of the weirdest films ever made, even by Cronenberg standards. And although its outdated gore effects may seem a bit cheesy today, the underlying message Cronenberg wanted to convey through its over-the-top depiction of violence and gore hasn’t aged one bit.

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The film tells the story of Max Renn; the CEO of a small television station who, while searching for a better content for his channel through pirate satellite dish comes across Videodrome; a broadcast signal depicting brutal torture & murder, which intrigues him and he bets on it as the next big thing. But while trying to uncover the signal’s source, Renn’s life slowly starts spinning out of control in a very bizarre manner. There is a great deal of social commentary in VIDEODROME criticizing the gruesome effects mass media can have on society. The body horror depiction carries the Cronenberg trademark and the performance by James Woods stands tall amongst the cast with fine contributions from Sonja Smits and a young and thin Deborah Harry.

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Now you can relive the new flesh when VIDEODROME plays on the big screen this weekend as art of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse. This is the kick-off show at their new location: The Moolah Theater and Lounge – 3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108. The bar there is open until 3am! (you’ll need a drink after VIDEODROME)  -The preshow starts at 11:30. See ya there! Admission is $7

BLANK CITY Final Poster

Featuring

Jim Jarmusch, Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, John Lurie, Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore,
Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, James Nares, Maripol, Ann Magnuson,
James Chance, Beth B, Scott B and John Waters

A Film By

Opening at the IFC Center in New York on Friday, April 6

Before there was HD there was Super 8. Before Independent film there was Underground Cinema. And before New York there was…well, New York. Once upon a pre-Facebook time, before creative communities became virtual and viral, cultural movements were firmly grounded in geography. And the undisputed center of American – some would say international – art and film was New York City. In particular, downtown Manhattan in the late 1970’s and 80’s was the anchor of vanguard filmmaking.

BLANK CITY tells the long-overdue tale of the motley crew of renegade filmmakers that emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous period of New York History. It’s a fascinating look at the way this misfit cinema used the deserted, bombed-out Lower East Side landscapes to craft daring works that would go on to profoundly influence Independent Film today. Unlike the much-celebrated punk music scene, this era’s thrilling and confrontational underground film movement has never before been chronicled.

Directed by French newcomer Céline Danhier, BLANK CITY captures the idiosyncratic, explosive energy of the “No Wave Cinema” and “Cinema of Transgression” movements. Stark and provocative, the films drew name and inspiration from the French New Wave; as well as Film Noir, and the works of Andy Warhol and John Waters. Filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch, Eric Mitchell, Beth B, Charlie Ahear, Lizzie Borden and Amos Poe showcased the city’s vibrant grit and bore witness to the rising East Village art and rock scenes and the birth of hip hop. Short, long, color or black-and-white, their stripped-down films portrayed themes of alienation and dissonance with a raw and genuine spirit, at times with deadpan humor blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

Running time: 96 minutes

Release date: April 6 at the IFC Center, New York