"Go Sleaze!" ...in Times Square!

The entertainment revolution that Robert Stigwood began continues with Times Square

In the heart of Times Square, a poor girl becomes famous, a rich girl becomes courageous, and both become friends.


Two runaway teens face life on the streets in New York City with a devil-may-care attitude and a punk-rock image.

mes Square is a 1980 film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The film is about two teenage runaways from opposite sides of the track, living in New York City. The plot of the film embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority (personified in the film as parents, the medical establishment, and politicians). In terms of themes and plot (and the importance of a radio station to the latter), Times Square can be seen as a precursor to director Allan Moyle's later film Pump Up the Volume (1990).

Upon its original theatrical release, Times Square was not a commercial or critical success. Reviewing the film, Roger Ebert wrote, "Times Square rarely comes together into anything more than a good idea that fails, but there are times when it seems on the brink of wonderful things. Of all the bad movies I've seen recently, this is the one that projects the real sense of a missed opportunity - of potential achievement gone wrong. The problem may be with the screenplay. This is a movie that knows who its characters are, but doesn't seem sure about what they're doing."[5] Other reviews of the film were generally negative, although Robin Johnson's performance was frequently singled out for praise. Johnson, in fact, signed an exclusive three-year contract with the Robert Stigwood Organization, with the understanding that RSO would develop film and music projects for her. RSO intended to market Johnson as "the female John Travolta," and her contract legally barred her from accepting offers or auditions from rival companies. Johnson therefore turned down calls from agents, producers and casting directors, but the projects RSO promised her never came to fruition. Johnson took a job as a bank teller whilst waiting for her RSO contract to expire, and by the time it did, there were no offers for work. Johnson did some minor film and TV roles, but by the late 1980s, she gave up on acting and got a job as a traffic reporter on a Los Angeles radio station.

Over the years since its original release, Times Square has been rediscovered and become a cult classic and a staple at gay and lesbian film festivals,[citation needed] because of the aforementioned, subtly-portrayed lesbian relationship between the film's two female leads. Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre cites this[where?] as one of her favorite films. Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers covered the Times Square song "Damn Dog" on their debut album Generation Terrorists (1992) and quoted dialogue from the film in the album liner notes ("Damn Dog" was, however, excluded from the American release of the album). The Manics also named their song "Roses in the Hospital" (from their second album, 1993's Gold Against the Soul) after Pamela's line, "What about the roses in the hospital?" (alluding to the scene in which Nicky eats roses to distract Pamela from the doctors and her father). In concerts and publicity shots in 1993, Manics bassist Nicky Wire often wore bankrobber-mask-style makeup, as Nicky Marotta does in the film.

Release Date: October 17, 1980

Distrib: AFD

Boxoffice: