Foxes (1980)

I love this movie so much

Very well executed

Very disappointing...

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I loved, and still love this movie. When it came out, I was 12, and living a rather sheltered existence in Sacramento, which was very much like a Northern Californian version of the SoCal's "The Valley".This movie does a very realistic job of portraying how different things were for teenagers back in that era. Today's teens have been raised by parents who've bought into the idea that they need to be around their kids 24/7--the whole attachment parenting thing. Young kids spend most of their time around their adult parents, and if they do hang out with other kids, they are highly supervised "play dates". They grow into teens who may have some online freedom, but most likely are regimented into structured "programs"--lessons, classes, teams or clubs with high degrees of adult supervision. Parents often try their hardest to be seen as "friends", with the hope that their teen will share every little last thing about their lives, so different from the generation gap I recall in the late 70s/early 80s when I was that age.And these parents have very little of an adult life outside of their precious darlings-- so unlike what I recall of my parents and their large circle of friends with their frequent dinner parties and kid-free vacations and camping trips. Today's parent would have a guilt trip of epic proportions if it was even suggested that they spend adult time away from the kiddies.They might just be turned in to CPS if they allowed their teenagers to have even the tiniest amount of freedom as the 4 "Foxes" did in this thoughtful and revealing movie. Teenage girls aimlessly driving around, taking buses by themselves down to Hollywood, and having a much older boyfriend with a cool adults-not-welcome party pad would simply never happen in today's helicopter-parented middle classes.My teenage years in the early 80s weren't quite as free as these girls had it, but I remember endless nights spent driving around in a car full of friends with a "suitcase" of cheap Shafer beer, often ending up at the party house belonging to a bunch of 20- something guys--with nary a parent in sight, and no constant texting or calling ones' parents every hour. There was plenty of beer and pot, and lots of kids were having sexual relationships. And yet somehow we all made it--my group of pals all went to university; no one got arrested, addicted or pregnant.Kids like Annie who overdid it were around--though not many suffered the same extreme fate as Cheri Currie's character did. Ironically, Annie was the one with the MOST parental involvement, albeit an abusive authoritarian jerk of a father, and yet she has the toughest road to follow.Jodie Foster is, unsurprisingly, excellent, playing yet another smart, capable and sophisticated-beyond-her-years teen, unflinchingly blasé about sex, booze, and 'ludes until she needs to be emotional about Annie's behavior that is getting her closer and closer to being involuntarily committed to a mental ward. Foster's sheer intelligence is so evident even in those early years; it's no surprise to me that she became such a huge success, and so well-respected for the depth and excellence of both her acting and directing.I really do love this movie, but boy howdy does it highlight how much society has changed in regards to its views of childhood, teenagerdom, and adults' roles. I must admit that I'm rather nostalgic for those freer times when there was more of a healthy boundary between teenagers and their parents position in their lives. "Foxes" is a stylish yet very realistic look at Valley girls before they were "Valley Girls".

If a person grew up in Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley then this film interprets that life very well, especially in the late 70's very early 80's. And who better to clarify this existence than Jodie Foster and Cherie Currie? Portraying Annie was probably no stretch for Cherie Currie who fronted The Runaways. She probably understood Annie very well.People often dismiss the acting as amateurish. I would say not polished but how many teens have a polished act at that age? Nothing is perfect nor understood perfectly at that age. The parents here understand life but can't be understood by their teenage children. Very realistic to me. If the acting had been polished this film wouldn't work. It's the very fact that things seem slightly amateurish that makes this film believable. The film is gritty, grimy, smoggy but also gentle, and young-slightly naive. If you want a peek at life in LA seen through the eyes of it's youth at that time then check this out. Life had it's complications back then even without cell phones, I-pods and Blackberries.

One of the best portrayals of being a teen in the late 70's early 80's. Jodie Foster is simply wonderful as the one who tries to hold all of her friends together through the difficult times of being a teen in Califirnia; actually this could have been set in any city. I lived this life of parties, concerts and excess during this same era. Being 44 and looking back it is like looking back into my own memories of kids I went to school with and the things we experienced. Though the look of this movie is dated, big hair, satin jackets etc, however it certainly is still relevant. Donna Summer's "On the Radio" is such a great song and is a vital part of the fabric of this move. This is movie is so much better than the teen sex farces that seemed to proliferate after this movie came out - because it is a pretty close portrayal of what being a teen at this time was like with absent parents and lots of free time.If you haven't seen it you should...

Coming of age movies are quite usual these days. For 1980, "Foxes" really gives its meaning. Jodie Foster plays her character straight out. Ever since she did "Taxi Driver" four years earlier, she has a stronger character in this movie. She's Jeanie, a high schooler who has plenty of guts, and seems to get out of any situation she's in. Scott Baio plays Brad way before Chachi on "Happy Days". He's deemed immature by the other girls. Cherie Currie is Annie, hangs with the wrong crowd, chased by her policeman father. Jeanie and her three other friends decide to live on the wild side until they move into a rented house where a party get totally out of hand. Exploring life on the other side of the tracks can be either fun or dangerous. Annie is rescued by Jeanie and Brad all the time whenever she gets wasted. Reality comes back hard where she is killed in a automobile accident. And one gets married to a much older man. Growing up isn't easy, sometimes we got to explore life how it is. In reality, you got to be careful about the people surrounding you. For me, I was my own person, and I tend to stay that way! Great music, great plot, this movie's a gem! 4 out of 5 stars!