Pure trashy, glamorous (well, for 1982 glamour-stakes anyhow!), bitchy and endlessly re-watchable entertainment, Paper Dolls is worth a watch for a number of reasons...
1) The opening credits sequence, in which supermodel Taryn Blake (Daryl Hannah, in one of her first acting jobs, coincidentally around the same time Blade Runner made her a star!) is photographed in a number of different poses, outfits and locations by the same guy who played Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch! During the opening moments, the title theme song is absolutely HILARIOUS! But, then, how could it not be with such lyrics as, "She works magic with her eyes... Full of innocence, that mesmerise..." or "Caught between two different worlds... She's the envy of the other girls"?! I wonder if this had been released as a pop single, would it have gone straight to #1?! Also, Daryl Hannah wears some of the most TERRIBLE clothes I've ever seen! But she still looks brilliant, and she seems to be having a ball playing up to the camera, as the photographer tells her to pretend such things as Timothy Hutton kissing her, so she would then "melt like chocolate chip in the sun" - I kid you not, he really says that!
2) Julia Blake, played to the hilt by Joan Hackett. Julia is teen supermodel Taryn Blake's cold-hearted, ruthless, bespectacled and miserable mother, who controls Taryn's entire life and is terrified at Taryn walking out on her the same way Taryn's father did years before.
The late Joan Hackett, who sadly passed away of cancer a year or so after this movie in her mid 40s, completely and utterly steals the entire show here! Watch out for the scene where she totally loses it with Taryn for simply wanting to have a sleepover with a friend - "YOU WALK OUT ON ME!" she bellows, "GO AHEAD! Like father, like daughter!" - how Joan Hackett didn't receive an Emmy nomination for portraying this frosty, uptight cow is a mystery to me!
3) As if one scary Joan in this movie wasn't enough - there's TWO! The ultimate Joan - Alexis Carrington, Joan Collins herself! If Ms Collins had been given more screen-time than Joan Hackett, it may have been SHE who chewed up the scenery instead! Collins is Racine, the sophisticated and pushy talent agent. Collins is her usual flashy, campy, hilarious self. She says things like, "Ciao, darling!" and, "Be careful whose pool you swim in today - you never know whose been in it yesterday!" - basically, Racine could easily be a not-so-distant relative of Alexis Carrington!
4) CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! One of the most hilarious girl-on-girl scraps that I've ever seen on film. Taryn Blake and her "rival", sweet high school student turned model Laurie Caswell (Alexandra Paul, making her film debut with this one!) battle in a make-up tent on a beach in Hawaii, rolling around on the sandy floor, and smearing lipstick on each others' faces! The editing is appalling in this sequence, but that makes it even more funny!
Taryn yells such insults as, "Beginner novice!" while Laurie retorts, "You and your stupid, stupid games!" Needless to say, this is LITERALLY a "make up" tent, as the girls catch their reflection in a mirror, laugh hysterically at how idiotic they look, and are instantly best friends at that moment! All together now... AWWWW!!!!
5) The Warren Beatty look-a-like! Taryn and Laurie, loaded down with shopping bags in New York, spot movie star Warren Beatty across the street! Taryn's philosophy about approaching him is, "Famous people like to be recognised by other famous people!" What makes this scene so funny is the fact that the actor playing Warren Beatty looks about 15 years younger than Beatty actually would have looked in 1982!
I could go on in detail at the many, many great moments in Paper Dolls, but you should really try and see this obscure little gem to enjoy them all for yourself! It's tacky beyond belief, but that's part of its charm - and how many other nearly forgotten 1980s flicks star Daryl Hannah, Alexandra Paul, Joan Collins, Joan Hackett, Jennifer Warren, Craig T. Nelson, Marc Singer, Eric Stoltz... and the guy who played Huggy Bear from S&H?!!?
1) The opening credits sequence, in which supermodel Taryn Blake (Daryl Hannah, in one of her first acting jobs, coincidentally around the same time Blade Runner made her a star!) is photographed in a number of different poses, outfits and locations by the same guy who played Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch! During the opening moments, the title theme song is absolutely HILARIOUS! But, then, how could it not be with such lyrics as, "She works magic with her eyes... Full of innocence, that mesmerise..." or "Caught between two different worlds... She's the envy of the other girls"?! I wonder if this had been released as a pop single, would it have gone straight to #1?! Also, Daryl Hannah wears some of the most TERRIBLE clothes I've ever seen! But she still looks brilliant, and she seems to be having a ball playing up to the camera, as the photographer tells her to pretend such things as Timothy Hutton kissing her, so she would then "melt like chocolate chip in the sun" - I kid you not, he really says that!
2) Julia Blake, played to the hilt by Joan Hackett. Julia is teen supermodel Taryn Blake's cold-hearted, ruthless, bespectacled and miserable mother, who controls Taryn's entire life and is terrified at Taryn walking out on her the same way Taryn's father did years before.
The late Joan Hackett, who sadly passed away of cancer a year or so after this movie in her mid 40s, completely and utterly steals the entire show here! Watch out for the scene where she totally loses it with Taryn for simply wanting to have a sleepover with a friend - "YOU WALK OUT ON ME!" she bellows, "GO AHEAD! Like father, like daughter!" - how Joan Hackett didn't receive an Emmy nomination for portraying this frosty, uptight cow is a mystery to me!
3) As if one scary Joan in this movie wasn't enough - there's TWO! The ultimate Joan - Alexis Carrington, Joan Collins herself! If Ms Collins had been given more screen-time than Joan Hackett, it may have been SHE who chewed up the scenery instead! Collins is Racine, the sophisticated and pushy talent agent. Collins is her usual flashy, campy, hilarious self. She says things like, "Ciao, darling!" and, "Be careful whose pool you swim in today - you never know whose been in it yesterday!" - basically, Racine could easily be a not-so-distant relative of Alexis Carrington!
4) CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! One of the most hilarious girl-on-girl scraps that I've ever seen on film. Taryn Blake and her "rival", sweet high school student turned model Laurie Caswell (Alexandra Paul, making her film debut with this one!) battle in a make-up tent on a beach in Hawaii, rolling around on the sandy floor, and smearing lipstick on each others' faces! The editing is appalling in this sequence, but that makes it even more funny!
Taryn yells such insults as, "Beginner novice!" while Laurie retorts, "You and your stupid, stupid games!" Needless to say, this is LITERALLY a "make up" tent, as the girls catch their reflection in a mirror, laugh hysterically at how idiotic they look, and are instantly best friends at that moment! All together now... AWWWW!!!!
5) The Warren Beatty look-a-like! Taryn and Laurie, loaded down with shopping bags in New York, spot movie star Warren Beatty across the street! Taryn's philosophy about approaching him is, "Famous people like to be recognised by other famous people!" What makes this scene so funny is the fact that the actor playing Warren Beatty looks about 15 years younger than Beatty actually would have looked in 1982!
I could go on in detail at the many, many great moments in Paper Dolls, but you should really try and see this obscure little gem to enjoy them all for yourself! It's tacky beyond belief, but that's part of its charm - and how many other nearly forgotten 1980s flicks star Daryl Hannah, Alexandra Paul, Joan Collins, Joan Hackett, Jennifer Warren, Craig T. Nelson, Marc Singer, Eric Stoltz... and the guy who played Huggy Bear from S&H?!!?