Satisfaction is as typically mediocre teen 1980’s movie as you can get. Its about a rag-tag group of teen girls who have a rock band called ‘Mystery’. Their plan for the summer is to play as the resident band at a beach side town. Their keyboardist has split, so they take the nerd boy Nickie who lives across the road with them.
Of course because they are a dark rock band, they arrive at the beach where everyone is blonde and buff.
Impressing the bar owner Falconi (Liam Neeson) he tells the band he has a friend who is booking tours across Europe. This could be their big break. Although in typical movie fashion, there are problems along the way.
The band are pretty much paint by number characters. Justine Bateman plays Jennie Lee, the smart, savvy lead singer and guitarist. Her whole life is before her, she has a scholarship to college, but wants to be in the band.
Billy , the blonde slightly dippy guitarist takes drugs and has a best friend in Liam Neeson’s dog. Of course as this is an 80’s teen film, there has to be an overdose scene, which seems sloppily cut into the film.
Mooch (Trini Alvarado) is the moody drummer who starts out typically adverse to Nickie, its cliche, its painfully obvious where that story is headed. It even includes the stereotypical scene where she scrubs up nicely from the dark eyeliner etc…
Lastly in the band is the innocently slutty Julia Roberts character, Daryle who just wants to marry her thuggish boyfriend.
The film is heavy on montages instead of developing story by dialogue. Its pretty much aimed as a film which 13 year old girls would like. As i’m starting to discover with these music films there is a typical famous muso cameo with Debbie Harry as Tina. A character which is never fully explained.
Watch this if you want a truly average 80’s teen movie…Really, you should just rent anything by John Hughes instead… or Animal House.