Bonnie's Kids (1973)

Powerful

Nice effects though.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Pretty teen temptress Myra (Robin Mattson) is talking dirty to her boyfriend on the phone when her drunken stepfather walks in and decides to show her what a real man is like. As Myra is being attacked, her big sister Ellie (Tiffany Bolling) appears brandishing a shotgun and gives him both barrels. So begins this gritty slice of sleazy '70s exploitation, which delivers sex, violence and morally dubious characters aplenty as the girls (whose mother was named Bonnie, hence the title) flee their home to start life anew with their uncle Ben, unaware that he is a ruthless crime boss.As drive-in/grindhouse cinema goes, Bonnie's Kids is tough to beat, ticking off many of the ingredients that avid fans of the genre live for: two gorgeous leads in Bolling and jailbait Mattson, both of whom deliver gratuitous nudity; a large bag of dirty cash to tempt the weak; a pusillanimous private eye led astray by a beautiful woman; a pair of hired goons who provide the film with acts of bloody violence; a smattering of lesbianism; and a wonderfully downbeat ending. It's pretty obvious that Quentin Tarantino is a fan, the film clearly serving as inspiration for Pulp Fiction (Does the name Bonnie sound familiar? Do Ben's interracial hitmen, hired to retrieve a valuable package, remind you of anyone? And what about that Butch/Marcellus-style chance encounter in a store that results in shocking violence?). If, like me and QT, your idea of entertainment is watching reprehensible lowlifes living on the edge, this should fit the bill nicely.

Drive-in exploitation movie that is teeming with unlikable characters. I would say that Alex Rocco is the most sympathetic person I could find, and he is a hit-man just trying to do his job. Rocco also provides far and away the best acting in "Bonnie's Kids". The story of manipulating sisters, Tiffany Bolling, and Robin Matson, often bogs down with meaningless small talk and titillating sexual teasing. 105 minutes running time seems excessive, but the story is way above average, and several catchy tunes are memorable. There are also some moments of dark humor thrown into the mix. Not exactly the "classic" others may think it is, but still quite entertaining. - MERK

It may be a bit hard to fathom why this is called "Bonnie's Kids" when the mother character "Bonnie" is dead before the movie even starts and does not appear at all, even in flashbacks. But this is no doubt a reference to the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" which this film at times certainly resembles. Two sisters are living with their drunken, brutish stepfather after the death of their prostitute mother. The older sister (Tiffany Bolling) catches the stepfather trying to molest the younger sister(Robin Mattson) and shoots him dead. The two go on the lam and end up at the home of an uncle, who owns a fashion magazine, but (rather incongruously) is also a vicious gangster on the side. The older sister goes to pick up a "package" for the uncle from a dimwitted private detective. They fall for each other and when they discover the "package" is a large amount of cash, they flee with it with two of the uncle's dangerous associate (Alex Rocco, Timothy Brown ) in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, the younger sister is seducing practically everyone in her uncle's household from his studly gardener to his lonely lesbian wife. The ending makes the finale of "Bonnie and Clyde" seem positively cheery by comparison.This movie has a real early 70's atmosphere of bleak pessimism to it, much like "The Candy Snatchers", another cult film of that era starring Bolling. It isn't just the downbeat ending though, but the fact that ALL the characters are totally amoral and unsympathetic, even the supposed heroines. The two sisters are more than willing to use their sexy bodies to get what they want and they seem completely untroubled by morals or basic human feelings. After convincing him to steal the money, the older sister is perfectly willing to betray her private detective beau and run off with a lecherous traveling salesman to save her own skin. The younger sister, meanwhile, is even more callous: she drives one of her lovers to suicide and then just laughs when she discovers the body. In the end, she doesn't even seem to care about the fate of her older sister.These sexy but totally unsympathetic heroine roles were pretty much the specialty of Tiffany Bolling. So, not surprisingly, she's pretty good here. This is one of Mattson's first movies, but she would go on to a brief exploitation career (i.e. "Candy Stripe Nurses"), and a much longer career in American television. In way she almost manages to "out-Bolling" Bolling here. She was still pretty young when she did this role, but nevertheless men (and lesbians) everywhere will no doubt be thankful that they don't have a malicious temptress like THIS for a stepdaughter. Director Arthur Marks, who also produced "The Candy Snatcher" would go on to do a couple influential "blaxploitation" movies ("Detroit 9000", "J.D.s Revenge"). I can't say this movie will fit everyone's taste, but one things for sure--they don't make 'em like this anymore.

For small-fry entertainment, you can't beat BONNIE'S KIDS...it's clever, briskly paced, and sexy as Hell. Ambitiously played by a cast of highly capable performers, all of whom should have been better utilized in Hollywood, this unassuming little offering stands as one of the crown jewels of 70s drive-in fodder. Noir-ish story revolves around a pair of gorgeous young sisters who are determined to get ahead no matter who gets screwed in the process. When a private detective comes round to deliver a "special package" to one of the girls, things really start cookin'...a crime story with more flurried excitation, concupiscent titillation, and shifty maneuvers than a Crisco coated Naked Twister marathon. On a scale of 1-10, BONNIE'S KIDS gets a solid 8.5...right up there with THE CANDY SNATCHERS as a sleazy must-see classic.