The Wild Side

Far from the mad pretensions of Coppola's Camus-for-kids, far from the puerile pranks of Porky's, this combines intelligent social comment with the conventions of the teens-in-revolt exploiter to gripping effect. The group of nihilist punks who scandalise one of LA's seedier neighbourhoods are never glamorised, but shown warts and all. Eventually, however, they gain our sympathy, partly because Spheeris reveals why they have become so anti-social, partly because the irate locals who persecute them as scapegoats for every crime imaginable are even less attractive. A justifiably angry film, fast and full of violent action, though there's plenty of humour too; and the lack of originality is amply compensated for by its manifest sincerity.