Then they realized that nobody looks at the side of buses unless they are attracted to the product. But for Trini Alvarado, this rich daughter of a politician has become a lot of trouble to him especially since he's responsible for a campaign to clean up Times Square. Alvarado encounters homeless punk rocker Robin Johnson in the mental ward of the local hospital, and they run off together while pop panics and New York radio talk show host Tim Curry makes comments on the missing girl.
From what I've read, people either liked Johnson or couldn't stand her. Recalling her powerful but hard to watch performance on "Guiding Light" as a drug addicted gang leader (far too realistic), I knew she was a very good actress, but in small doses. I was surprised that her tough character here had a lot of dimension, the type of person that never shows their hearts until they fully trust you. Whether or not this is a love story between the two women is up for debate, but it is definitely a story of a powerful friendship of opposites. Johnson did not deserve nominations for worst actress.
The film opens with a montage of Times Square during this time, showing all the types of characters that hang out there, and I was hoping it would be a bit more revealing about life on the streets, not only for the two girls, but others like themselves they encounter. It's like the naked city having many stories, but you only get one of them. Anna Maria Horsford is powerful as their social services rep, tough but someone who cares and really wants to make an impact.
This is definitely a period piece of its time, with the Times Square clean up happening decades after this. It's crude at times, but it's a crude world in the big city, and the song Alvarado and Johnson sings is filled with slurs. A very young looking Curry doesn't really get much to do, but he makes the most out of his part, especially in his confrontation from Alvarado's father. It's interesting to see the Christopher Street piers and abandoned warehouses long before they were torn down and cleaned up. It's also a bit depressing, as the story indicates. This could never have been a TV movie teen runaway story. It's all too real which explains why it didn't do too well.
From what I've read, people either liked Johnson or couldn't stand her. Recalling her powerful but hard to watch performance on "Guiding Light" as a drug addicted gang leader (far too realistic), I knew she was a very good actress, but in small doses. I was surprised that her tough character here had a lot of dimension, the type of person that never shows their hearts until they fully trust you. Whether or not this is a love story between the two women is up for debate, but it is definitely a story of a powerful friendship of opposites. Johnson did not deserve nominations for worst actress.
The film opens with a montage of Times Square during this time, showing all the types of characters that hang out there, and I was hoping it would be a bit more revealing about life on the streets, not only for the two girls, but others like themselves they encounter. It's like the naked city having many stories, but you only get one of them. Anna Maria Horsford is powerful as their social services rep, tough but someone who cares and really wants to make an impact.
This is definitely a period piece of its time, with the Times Square clean up happening decades after this. It's crude at times, but it's a crude world in the big city, and the song Alvarado and Johnson sings is filled with slurs. A very young looking Curry doesn't really get much to do, but he makes the most out of his part, especially in his confrontation from Alvarado's father. It's interesting to see the Christopher Street piers and abandoned warehouses long before they were torn down and cleaned up. It's also a bit depressing, as the story indicates. This could never have been a TV movie teen runaway story. It's all too real which explains why it didn't do too well.