Brassy lead singer Kitty (the adorable Jennifer Schwartz),spunky bass player Bunny (the equally cute Hilary Rubens) and feisty drummer Patch (the likewise attractive Janet Housden) are the hottie 18-year-old girl members of the scrappy all-female punk band the Lovedolls. The Lovedolls prove to be a fleeting flash-in-the-pan success; their fifteen minutes of fame are severely undermined by sleazy no-count heel manager Johnny Tremaine (deliciously overplayed to the sensationally slimy hilt by Steve McDonald) and the rival group the She Devils, a nasty bunch who are led by the spiteful and venomous Tania Heart (the splendidly snarky Tracy Lea). Technically, this fabulously flipped-out micro-budget underground indie cult favorite is extremely rough around the edges, with the sloppy storytelling, ragged editing, gritty, washed-out photography, crummy acting, lousy sound, and terrible lip-syncing all adding immensely to the movie's infectiously raw'n'ratty schlocky camp charm. Moreover, the often sidesplitting dialogue ("Thanks for killing my mom"),authentically grungy Los Angeles locations, the catchy, thrashy punk soundtrack (the Red Kross theme song in particular seriously smokes),the insanely eventful narrative, an excitingly vibrant depiction of the gnarly 80's punk scene, the hilariously lowbrow humor, the expected terrifically trashy clichés involving the dangers of sex and drugs (Johnny's nightmarish bad acid trip sequence is simply astonishing),colorfully wacky characters and an overall sense of gloriously gonzo go-for-it glee and gusto ensure that this beautifully berserk baby is a total rollicking blast of pure in-your-face impudent and irreverent 80's punk attitude and energy.

This was a small gem of a bootleg VHS amongst friends in my teenage years (the mid-80's). Ultra-cool, campy story of a girl group playing ultra-cool rock 'n' roll. Funny as hell. Looked like someone's home movie with bad lighting, messy camera work, and often fuzzy sound, but who cared with such potent lines and a kick-ass soundtrack?

Supposedly the DVD is coming out next month... even if they haven't cleaned it up, it's better than most of the other so-called "musicals" of the 1980's.

Oh, and if I recall, there was a sequel that was pretty cool too.

Desperate Teenage Lovedolls is one of the great unheralded no-budget movies. It deserves to be put on a shelf with Jim Van Bebber's Deadbeat At Dawn, Scooter McCrae's Shatter Dead, Buddy Giovinazzo's Combat Shock, and John Waters's Mondo Trasho. While not quite as extreme as any of those masterpieces, it has a curious naivety and punk-rock verve that makes it irresistible.

The story follows the rise & fall of a grrl punk rock band from the gutter to the stars and back. It features all the clichés - sleazy managers, drugs, murder, gang fights, Felix the cat, you name it. There's plenty of great punk rock on the soundtrack, and Redd Kross both back the Love Dolls and play roles in the movie.

The whole thing manages to wrap up in well over an hour, leaving us wanting more. Fortunately there's a sequel. I'm hoping for Part 3.