If you were alive during cable TV's heyday then there are certain movies you remember more for their ubiquity on home cable than for any other redeeming qualities. HBO used to be called 'Hey, Beastmaster's On' for a reason. In addition to this, there was a time during the 80s when studios became very interested in releasing inexpensive movies aimed at that long cherished 18 to 45 demographic which were meant to put the fun in 'no profundity here, folks,' and a lot of those movies wound up on the cable channel lineups. Well, Modern Girls is one of those movies. It definitely has a 'just go with it' flavor to it. There are two descriptions of the movie's plot on this page and the one that references a prank is the one that's not accurate. The individually contributed description gets it right. The movie does mean to explore the power of friendship, particularly female friendship, but it doesn't aim to do so without losing track of its mandate for presenting viewers with a somewhat voyeuristic view of nightlife in 80s Los Angeles. Margo, CeCe and Kelly are roommates trying to get by in the city and enjoying their nights off by hitting the clubs. Margo (Daphne Zuniga) is the raven haired savvy chick, CeCe (Cynthia Gibb) is the brunette flibbertigibbet, and Kelly (Virginia Madsen) is the blonde beauty who can have any man she wants, but she only wants the one who leads her on. All three actresses were up and comers at this point in their careers, while their leading man has become known as a reliable 'hey, it's that guy' actor. Kelly has made a date with Cliff (Clayton Rhoner) which she bails on as soon as her on-again off-again boyfriend Brad says they're on again. She takes the car, leaving Margo and CeCe stranded at the apartment, until Cliff shows up with his car. They concoct a plan to convince him to go out and find Kelly, but really they just want to go clubbing and they want him to drive them around. Meanwhile, there's a big rock star hanging around (also played by Clayton Rhoner) whom CeCe has a big crush on, and who develops an interest in her as well. The rest of the movie is them hitting the different L. A. scenes while playing cat and mouse with Kelly, a stalker whose attention she has inadvertently attracted, the rock star Bruno X, and Bruno X's fans who have mistaken Cliff for him. It kind of wants to be After Hours, but it doesn't want to ever be that trippy or deep. Some of the set pieces work, especially when they're poking fun at specific club scenes. Others fall flat, particularly one in a pool hall that references a real event in a way that may produce a full body cringe. The set dressing is really fun in places, especially the girls' apartment which looks exactly like what you'd expect from three single ladies scraping by but which movies almost never show accurately. The ending is kind of silly. Overall this movie is a fun watch and a bit of a time capsule for its era, but it's not going to stay on your mind for long past the viewing, nor is it probably meant to.
Review of Modern Girls
