Reviewed by Melissa Garza
You know you’re married to the right guy when he not only agrees to watch one of the cheesiest, bad, romance movies of all time, but he painfully pays attention to the plot.
I first saw this movie when I was a young teen. I loved it! First it stars one of my favorite scream queens, Jill Schoelen. Schoelen starred in cult classics like, Popcorn (1991), Phantom of the Opera (1989), Cutting Class (1989), and of course, The Stepfather (1987).
During her acting career, Schoelen appeared in more than just scarefests. She was cute and fun in Babes in Toyland (1986) and perfected her role in the true-crime mini-series Billionaire Boys Club (1987). Despite, how different her roles were from one another, she always seemed to not only make the characters believable but also brought a sense of herself into the production that ensured her particular scenes would be remembered.
Rich Girl is no exception to the rule and Schoelen unsurprisingly delivers quite well. Admittedly, I am bias. After all, she is most certainly one of my female crushes. She has this sweet girl next door personality mixed with a raw sexuality that can sell any role. Still, without all of that, she is just a fine actress. She does well whether portraying the heroine fighting a villain or a young woman trying to be with the man of her dreams.
The movie opens with Courtney (Schoelen) breaking off her engagement to Jeffrey (Sean Kanan) who is a cheating lout. Soap Opera fans will recognize Kanan as A.J. Quartermaine from General Hospital. When I was much younger, I’d watch GH for the romantic duo Sonny (Maurice Bernard) and Brenda (Vannessa Marcil). In the very beginning, I recall A.J. trying to get in between the two and I’d get so angry at the character. I remember a time when soap operas would take months just for a couple to share a kiss. The build-up was so intense and spectacular. There was nothing quite like it and sadly I don’t think there will ever be again. The 70s, 80s and 90s were by far the best time for soaps. There wasn’t a need for instant gratification so the entire wondering of “will they or won’t they get together” made for amazing TV. With “reality TV” shows depicting men and women having sex before knowing eachother’s names, the pace of old fashioned romances are looked at as unrealistic and unfortunately aren’t shown any longer.
I will say when soap operas reigned as king, they deserved their throne. Whether it was the saga of Luke and Laura on GH, Patch and Kayla on Days of Our Lives, or just the presence of Todd Manning when portrayed by Roger Howarth on One Life to Live, the writers and actors knew how to keep the audience glued. Todd Manning has to be the greatest soap opera character of all time. He was a villain in the truest form of the word. The worst of his deeds, leading a gang rape ensured he would never be anything but a ‘bad guy.’ What was phenomenal about the character is that rather than attempting to reform him which was the way that most popular villains were handled, Howarth instead kept Todd’s dark side. The character actually reveled in his own evil deeds all the while Howarth showed the audience what a tortured soul Todd was. He wasn’t just a despicable human being. He was a despicable human being who was suffering in such a tragic way that all the while hating him, one couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for his internal struggle. It was such a difficult topic to tackle but it was done so well! During the time that Howarth was able to delve into the psyche of Manning, One Life to Live was the most compelling TV I had ever watched. I actually used some footage in college for a Psychology of Love course to depict how hatred of others is generally just redirected hate that is felt for oneself.
Wow…that as a bit of a sidetrack, but damn I do miss good soap operas.
So, Courtney ends up leaving her fiancé. She goes to visit her father, the very wealthy and powerful Marvin Wells (Paul Gleason) and the two get into a heated argument where he tells her that if she leaves to never come back. Gleason is fantastic in this role. He was great in everything. I still quote his lines as the principal from The Breakfast Club. “Don’t mess with the bull young man, you’ll get the horns!”
So, Courtney escapes to a nightclub where the owner Rocco (Ron Karabatsos) only gives her a job after talking to Marvin. Of course, Courtney doesn’t know this and agrees to be a waitress. Soon, she falls for Rick (Don Michael Paul) the lead singer of the house band. The problem is that the female lead in the band, and his ex-girlfriend Michelle (Cherie Curie) is a cokehead who isn’t ready to give him up. When it becomes clear that he’s moving on with Courtney she leaves the bad, a week before a scout is going to be showing up to hear them sing.
This is not a good movie. The storyline has been done a thousand times before. It’s Dirty Dancing with singing. It’s like The Forbidden Dance or a reversed less-impressive Pretty in Pink. To put it plainly, it’s as far from original as one can get. The dialogue is poor and a lot of the scenes laughable. The ending is more than predictable as is the whole film. It follows the same feel-good formula that every other film like this does. Still, there’s something charming about the movie.
It’s got a fun factor. It’s cheese for the sake of cheese, but it’s one of those movies that you can throw on the TV and watch without thinking. It’s not Liz & Dick (2012) bad but it’s bad. The music leaves a lot to be desired. It’s like listening to an awful Bruce Springsteen cover-band who insists on singing their own material.
If there is a teenage girl who lives inside of you, give it a go. If you were a teen in the early 90s and remember the films that went straight-to-video and liked them back then, maybe you still will. IF nothing else, Schoelen and Gleason make it worth it.
This was never released on DVD. I’ve had a VHS copy for years and found a website that would transfer it to DVD for me. If you can find it, watch it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
