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MOVIES / ON DVD / DOWN AND OUT WITH THE DOLLS
Down and Out with the Dolls

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Down and Out with the Dolls (2003)

52%
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100%
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52 %
Reviews Counted: 25 Fresh: 13  Rotten:12 Average Rating: 5.2/10
Rated: R
Runtime: 88 mins
Theatrical Release: Mar 21, 2003 Limited
Synopsis:
Working day jobs while dreaming of success, aspiring young rockers KALI (Nicole Barrett), LAVENDER (Melody Moore) and REGGIE (Kinnie Starr) get the jump start they need when local legend FAUNA (Zoe Poledouris), singer for the seminal (if utterly obscure) Goth band THE SNOGS, joins them as... [More]
Working day jobs while dreaming of success, aspiring young rockers KALI (Nicole Barrett), LAVENDER (Melody Moore) and REGGIE (Kinnie Starr) get the jump start they need when local legend FAUNA (Zoe Poledouris), singer for the seminal (if utterly obscure) Goth band THE SNOGS, joins them as lead singer. Ousted from her home and her band by her erratic, Eurotrash boyfriend PAULO (Mikael Jehanno), Fauna has been thrust back to square one. Street-wise and opportunistic, she stumbles upon the other girls, recognizing their usefulness as a ready-made and pliable supporting band with which to launch her umpteenth campaign for stardom. It doesn't hurt that guitarist Kali, recently rekindled a childhood friendship with LEVI (Coyote Shivers), lead singer of THE SUICIDE BOMBERS, a hometown band on the fast track to being acquired by local indie label POP UP RECORDS. Realizing that the Levi connection could prove decisive, scheming Fauna takes star-struck Kali under her wing. What better way to seize control of the band?

Down and Out with The Dolls - SynopsisInitially, all goes to plan. With the help of Levi, The Paper Dolls land a deal with Pop Up Records, with plans to segue into conglomerate label SUMI, whose purchase of Pop Up ensures ownership of their entire catalogue, including The Paper Dolls. After years of struggle and frustration, Fauna is poised to enjoy the "breakthrough" she has always coveted. In fact, the future looks rosy for all four Paper Dolls.

Down and Out with The Dolls - SynopsisNow all the girls need to do is save money. The band decides to move into "The Dollhouse" together while honing their songwriting skills. But pressures of cohabitation quickly take their toll.

Down and Out with The Dolls - SynopsisKali's growing resentment of the commercial direction in which Fauna is leading the band begins chipping away at their friendship. Still in her teens, and driven to write music by an earnest need for self-expression, Kali bridles at handing over her heartfelt songs to Fauna, only to have them revamped into vapid, radio-friendly pop nuggets. It also doesn't help that Fauna has caught the eye of Levi, and poses a direct threat to Kali's plans to be with him.

Down and Out with The Dolls - SynopsisBassist Lavender is also frustrated. She has put her relationship with long time boyfriend CLARK (Shawn Robinson) on hold so as to fully commit to the band. Previously, she and Clark were running an indie record store, and intending to set up house together. Now, with Clark growing increasingly distant and jealous (he's a frustrated musician himself), Lavender is beginning to weigh the cost of success. She also senses the battle brewing between Fauna and Kali for the affections of Levi, and is concerned that her friend Kali, so innocent and sensitive, will be the big loser.

Down and Out with The Dolls - SynopsisDrummer Reggie doesn't know it, but she has a looming problem of her own. Her proclivity for casually seducing and then discarding female fans has seriously angered one of her conquests, HEATHER (Sierra Feldner). Mistaking Reggie's casual hedonism for the sort of "find 'em, feel 'em, forget 'em" treatment one would receive at the hands of a male rock star, Heather feels used and jilted. Seeking revenge, she has enlisted the help of MULDER (Brendan O'Hara), Reggie's long-suffering boyfriend-cum-lackey. The good-natured Mulder has no vindictive feelings toward Reggie-on the contrary, he idolizes her-but as Reggie rarely sleeps with him, the sex-starved Mulder is quickly, if reluctantly, seduced by Heather into aiding her in a scheme to humiliate the sexually amoral drummer.

All comes to a head during a two-day raver at the Doll House. The party, intended as the band's glorious coming-out, degenerates into a debauch marred by drunken recrimination and mudslinging. The next morning, a body is found-someone is dead-and the Dolls' world is forever changed. Down and Out with The Dolls - Synopsis

Outrageous and droll, and marked by an appreciation for the way aspiring musicians live and scrounge, "Down and Out With the Dolls" is an underground comic book come to life, and features numerous cameos by real-life rockers, including Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Janice Tanaka (L7), Inger Lorre (ex-Nymphs) and Coyote Shivers. -- © Indican Pictures [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Zoe Poledouris, Nicole Barrett, Kinnie Starr, Melody Moore, Coyote Shivers

Director: Kurt Voss
Producer: Matt Hill, Nanda Rao

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 28, 2003

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Stereo - English

Buy It On DVD

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12/06/05 07:32 PM
Film Threat
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No review available.

| Comment
08/21/05 10:26 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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an assuredly made, unexpectedly poignant and hilarious feel-good flick, pitched somewhere between the goofy campiness of John Waters and the good-heartedness of Cameron Crowe

Full Review | Comment
09/30/04 10:36 PM
Jay Antani
Los Angeles Alternative
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01/15/04 05:03 PM
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY
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What the film lacks in production values, it makes up in authenticity and comic moxie, using real musicians in many key roles -- and they can actually play.

Full Review | Comment
10/17/03 05:18 PM
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
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Taken at face-value and with no massive expectations, Dolls isn’t a half-bad little indie.

Full Review | Comment
08/23/03 09:49 PM
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
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Part Singles, part Hype! and part Josie and the Pussycats, with a healthy dose of bad camerawork, bad lighting, and extremely bad acting.

Full Review | Comment
06/22/03 08:32 PM
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide
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The movie's post-grunge Portland, Ore., quartet is almost laughably cliched -- which seems in direct opposition to the anti-authoritarian attitude of the movie.

Full Review | Comment
05/28/03 05:04 PM
John Anderson
Newsday
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Most successful in rooting viewers in a convincing milieu; there’s a certain attention to detail and fitful energy that leaves more of a vivid stamp in your brain than the movie as a whole probably earns.

Full Review | Comment
03/31/03 01:07 PM
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today
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The music is sensational, the energy level high, and Down and Out With the Dolls is a wise and funny treat.

Full Review | Comment
03/27/03 05:33 PM
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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Like a good punk tune, the filmmaker's focused energy distracts from compositional flaws.

Full Review | Comment
03/27/03 02:56 PM
Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
L.A. Weekly
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A meritless and exasperating film experience, lacking any insight, drama or humor regarding its subject, the underground music scene.

Full Review | Comment
03/24/03 05:04 PM
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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With The Paper Dolls' music no longer being played, we're all much better off.

Full Review | Comment
03/22/03 09:53 AM
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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A lot of the acting is amateurish, and most of the plot feels like a rehash of a rehash.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/03 04:03 PM
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
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It buoys you with the charm of its cast and the bred-in-the-bone local feel even as you have to squint to ignore its failings in technique and storytelling.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/03 04:00 PM
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
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While Dolls has a feverish energy -- and some good songs -- it suffers from crude performances and a trite rise-and-fall plot.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/03 03:57 PM
Megan Lehmann
New York Post
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Welcome to the valley of the Dolls. It's a valley where boring indie movies go to die.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/03 02:42 PM
E! Online
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It's Josie and the Pussycats meets Kids, with neither cinematic style served well.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/03 02:42 PM
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic
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Follows the standard show business rise-and-fall format, though the rise experienced by the Paper Dolls, as the assembled group calls itself, consists of a few club dates and a spectacular house party, held before they've even issued a single CD.

Full Review | Comment
03/20/03 07:20 PM
Dave Kehr
New York Times
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The movie belongs to the women, and they perform with attitude and power.

Full Review | Comment
03/20/03 01:03 PM
Patrick Z. McGavin
Chicago Tribune
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