I wasn't expecting much after the rather negative reviews, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying Bad Girls.
It seems to be taking cues from both Unforgiven and Young Guns with it's general story, and it's a well paced and entertaining movie with 4 very distinctive and very engaging characters.
The leads are all great! Madeleine Stowe's "leader" type Cody is played with both gusto and vulnerability which adds depth to the character, Draw Barrymore's cigarette smokin' tomboy Lilly has a boyish temper and attitude which is fun, and a little sexy, Andie MacDowell's suth'un Belle Eileen is entertaining and mischievous, and Mary Stuart Masterson's meek and shy Anita adds up to a collective of unlikely anti-heroes in a time where women really didn't get treated well..
The film also has some gorgeous cinematography. That dusty golden look so befitting of westerns is here, and it looks sumptuous. Much of westerns' appeal is vibe, and this kind of photography really gives it an authentic feel.
It's not a perfect film though. Troubled production and a change of directors/constant script rewrites apparently sucked all the motivation from the cast and crew.
The action scenes are clunky in terms of editing and choreography, and they lack scale/tension. It's serviceable enough, but uninspired and sometimes a little TV like in terms of framing.
Many of the other threads, such as the revenge plot and the romance seem surface level at best, and while it's all there, it could maybe have used some more depth.
I think Bad Girls biggest problem was that it came at the tail end of a stunning run of other westerns in the 1990s. While it's a good film, by comparison it appears weaker than what it actually is. Following on from the likes of Young Guns II, Dances with Wolves, Unforgiven, Tombstone et al was always going to be a hard task.
Regardless of any flaws, Bad Girls is a really solid and entertaining western with great photography, energetic pacing, and likeable leads.
A shame that a more rounded sequel never happened, but this is a fine addition to anyone's collection.
It seems to be taking cues from both Unforgiven and Young Guns with it's general story, and it's a well paced and entertaining movie with 4 very distinctive and very engaging characters.
The leads are all great! Madeleine Stowe's "leader" type Cody is played with both gusto and vulnerability which adds depth to the character, Draw Barrymore's cigarette smokin' tomboy Lilly has a boyish temper and attitude which is fun, and a little sexy, Andie MacDowell's suth'un Belle Eileen is entertaining and mischievous, and Mary Stuart Masterson's meek and shy Anita adds up to a collective of unlikely anti-heroes in a time where women really didn't get treated well..
The film also has some gorgeous cinematography. That dusty golden look so befitting of westerns is here, and it looks sumptuous. Much of westerns' appeal is vibe, and this kind of photography really gives it an authentic feel.
It's not a perfect film though. Troubled production and a change of directors/constant script rewrites apparently sucked all the motivation from the cast and crew.
The action scenes are clunky in terms of editing and choreography, and they lack scale/tension. It's serviceable enough, but uninspired and sometimes a little TV like in terms of framing.
Many of the other threads, such as the revenge plot and the romance seem surface level at best, and while it's all there, it could maybe have used some more depth.
I think Bad Girls biggest problem was that it came at the tail end of a stunning run of other westerns in the 1990s. While it's a good film, by comparison it appears weaker than what it actually is. Following on from the likes of Young Guns II, Dances with Wolves, Unforgiven, Tombstone et al was always going to be a hard task.
Regardless of any flaws, Bad Girls is a really solid and entertaining western with great photography, energetic pacing, and likeable leads.
A shame that a more rounded sequel never happened, but this is a fine addition to anyone's collection.