FOXFIRE

"FOXFIRE"
(1996) (Hedy Burress, Angelina Jolie) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Extreme	Minor	Heavy	Mild	Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	None	None	Heavy	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Moderate	Moderate	Mild	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: An enigmatic drifter changes the lives of four high school girls as she shows them how to break free from their insecurities.

PLOT:: Maddy Wirtz (HEDY BURRESS), Rita Faldes (JENNY LEWIS), Goldie Goldman (JENNY SHIMIZU) and Violet Kahn (SARAH ROSENBERG) all go to the same high school and all have been sexually harassed by their biology teacher. When a mysterious drifter, Legs Sadovsky (ANGELINA JOLIE), suddenly shows up and teaches the instructor about respect, the girls suddenly find themselves with a role model and leader. Suspended for beating up the biology teacher, the girls hang out with Legs and learn all about breaking free from their insecurities as well as from their parents. Things go bad when some some boys from school make trouble for the girls (regarding the biology teacher/coach), and when Goldie becomes a heroin addict. Legs and the others girls then go to extreme measures (kidnaping her father for rehab ransom) that inevitably changes their lives forever.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: It's aimed at the teenage market, but with a cast of relative unknowns, it won't be a big draw.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For teen nudity, drug use, strong language and some violent situations.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: None of the cast (including HEDY BURRESS or ANGELINA JOLIE) is particularly a good role model. They all get tattoos, they drink, and nearly all of them smoke pot. They break into their school and night and steal a car from some school boys (somewhat justifiably) and they kidnap one of the girl's fathers at gunpoint.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 4 out of 10: What starts out as a somewhat original, quirky story turns into an unbelievable and dark tale that lowers our rating a great deal. Jolie is good in her role as the mysterious woman who rides into town and changes these girls lives forever and Burress also delivers a decent performance. But the rest of the cast is just so-so, and again the dark turn toward the end of the movie ruins what could have been a interesting, "small" movie for teenagers.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: This movie is aimed toward the female teenage audience and there are some things to watch for. Profanity is extreme and there's some nudity when the girls allow Legs to tattoo their breasts. There's a fair amount of sexual discussion and there's some sexual attraction between Legs and Maddie, although nothing comes of it. All of the girls drink and nearly all of them are seen smoking pot. The character of Goldie is the big drug user. Not only does she smoke pot but she also becomes a heroin addict. Legs teaches the girls to be free spirits and free thinkers and gives them the impression to be rebellious. Finally, the girls kidnap Goldie's father at gunpoint toward the end of the movie. You should definitely read through the category listings before allowing your kids to see this one.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: The girls all drink a lot throughout the movie (usually whiskey straight from the bottle and an occasional beer).
Goldie is a serious drug addict. She's often seen smoking pot and gives a joint to the other girls who smoke it as well. Later it turns out that Goldie is a heroin addict and is seen shooting up.
After Legs has spent the night on Maddie's bedroom floor, her parents ask her who the girl is. Maddie mockingly says, "She's my drug dealer."

BLOOD/ GORE: Goldie's father's bleeds some from his gunshot wound and later Maddie's shirt is blood stained from when she was helping carry him out.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: The biology teacher has been sexually harassing the girls, in particular Rita who claims he feels her breasts and rubs against her butt. We then see him caressing her hair and fondling her breast after school in "detention."
The school principal suspends the girls for beating up the teacher without taking their allegations of sexual harassment seriously.
The girls break into their school at night (to retrieve Maddie's portfolio) and end up accidentally causing a small fire to break out.
Goldie's father beats and slaps her when he's upset with her.
The girls don't tell their parents that they've been suspended for two weeks. Instead they hang out with Legs in an abandoned house.
Some male students harass the girls (because they're upset that their coach, the biology teacher, might get fired because of the girls).
A cheerleader comes to Maddie for help stating that her boyfriend hit her and that she'd like Maddie to escort her home. Maddie does, but this turns out to be a setup where the male students grab her, throw her into their truck and plan on raping her.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: The students, and Rita in particular, are told to cut open live frogs during biology class. As they prepare to do so, some kids may find this to be tense.
The girls run and hide from the police after accidentally starting a small fire in their school they've broken into.
Maddie's abduction and near rape is tense. See "Violence" for details.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handgun: Examined by Legs (it belongs to Goldie's father) and then pointed (in a mock threat) at Goldie until Legs checks the chamber and finds a bullet inside.
Knife: Used by Legs to rescue Maddie from a near gang rape.
Handgun: Used by Legs to kidnap Goldie's father (to make him pay for her rehab) and often aimed at him or held to his head. Later, when Rita is holding the gun someone surprises her and she accidentally pulls the trigger and shoots Goldie's father in the shoulder.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Drinking, smoking and drug use.
A male student gives Maddie "the finger."
Phrases: "Jock strap sniffers," "Shut up," "Bitch," "Dork," "Slut," and "Whore."
Biology class students prepare to cut open live frogs. Some kids may get the idea to do this themselves on frogs (or other animals) outside of the classroom.
Legs climbs up on top of a bridge trestle and walks along it, showing Maddie how not to be fearful. She then climbs down from the side to retrieve Maddie's portfolio that she dropped there. Later Maddie climbs on top of the bridge herself.
The girls break into their school at night (to retrieve Maddie's portfolio) and end up accidentally causing a small fire to break out.
Legs tattoos her own breast (with a hot needle) and then does the same to all of the other girls.
The girls spray paint graffiti on a wall.
Legs (driving the male student's truck) runs through a red stop light and then runs from the police who then chase them.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): One song has the lyrics, "Lets get f*cked" and "Lets get f*cked up." Another song, sung by Rita has the lyrics, "I want you to come (ie. ejaculate) in my house (ie. vagina)."

PROFANITY: 38 "f" words (at least 5 used sexually in a song), 14 "s" words, 8 "ass" words, 6 hells, 1 slang term for male genitals (the "d" word), 1 SOB and 1 damn, and 4 uses of "Oh my God," and 3 uses each of "God" and "God damn" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Maddie is seen taking Polaroid pictures of her nude boyfriend out in the woods, and his bare butt is often seen.
A student grabs his crotch and says "Snap these babe" when he sees Maddie taking Polaroid pictures in their school.
Maddie sees some cheerleaders and before taking their picture says, "Okay you jock strap sniffers, say cheese."
Legs', Maddie's and Goldie's bare breasts are seen as each gets a tattoo on one of them.
Violet tells one of the male students who's harassing the girls that she likes his "fuzzy little head between my legs. Tell your friends how much you love the taste."
Violet and Rita talk about sex in a local grocery store. Rita is seen putting a condom on a cucumber (to see how it's done), and then asks Violet how "one knows if a guy's got a really big schlong." They then look at several guys' crotches and make comments. Rita then asks Violet how one knows if a guy's good in bed and Violet tells her "By how many times I come." Violet tells Rita that she "needs to get laid" and Rita responds that she does masturbate. Also Rita sings "I want you to come (ie. ejaculate) in my house (ie. vagina)" several times.
There's some sexual attraction between Legs and Maddie that nearly erupts, but in the end nothing happens.
One song has the lyrics, "Lets get f*cked" and "Lets get f*cked up."

SMOKING: Many of the girls, as well as other people, are seen smoking throughout the movie.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Legs mentions that her mother died while drunk driving and that she doesn't know where her father is.
Goldie's father disciplines her by hitting her on the back of the head and smacking her.
All of the parents (except for Maddie's) are upset that their daughters are now suddenly rebellious troublemakers.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: What it takes to be self-assured.

VIOLENCE: The girls confront their biology teacher about the sexual harassment. He gets mad and tries to forcibly remove Rita from the room. Violet jumps on his back and he throws her into the blackboard and he kicks Legs in the stomach. Maddie then runs up and kicks him in the crotch and then smashes his head onto a table. Rita then threatens him by saying, "If you ever put your hand on me again, I'll snip off your little nuts with my toenail clippers."
Goldie's father is occasionally seen hitting or slapping her when he's upset with her behavior.
After being set up, Maddie is grabbed by the male students and thrown into their truck. They plan on raping her to teach her a lesson. But Legs shows up and holds a knife to one of the boy's throats. The guys all get out of the truck and Legs and the other girls then steal the truck. Later, while running from the police, the truck overturns and rolls down a hill (but bruises are the only harm received).
Legs grabs a gun and holds it on Goldie's father and the girls end up kidnaping him (to make him pay for her rehab). Legs tells him "I will kill you and I don't care." They take him back to the abandoned house and gag and tie him up. Then, while Rita is holding the gun on him, she's surprised and accidentally pulls the trigger. The father is shot in the shoulder, but lives.

Reviewed August 22, 1996

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