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When Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader face off against each other in Avengers: Age of Ultron, odds are that you’ll read and hear a lot about their last cinematic pairing in 1987’s iconic Less Than Zero. However, that wasn’t the only time they shared the screen together. Two years prior to that Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, Spader and Downey Jr. co-starred in one of the most out there 1980s teen films, Tuff Turf, which hit theaters almost 35 years ago.
Janet Maslin and Roger Ebert called Tuff Turf schizophrenic ( Indeed Spacer is leather-swaddled tuff guy in one scene, a preppy the next) and that’s an apt description of the film. The movie isn’t just one teen film, it’s six teen films in one. It’s a “fish out of water” story and a “romance from opposite sides of the track” story. It’s a “parents just don’t understand” story an a “fighting bullies” drama. It’s even, at times, a wacky teen age farce and a teen musical. It’s amazing why this film hasn’t become more of a "badfilm" cult favorite over the past 30 years.
Spader stars as Morgan Hiller, a teenager who was forced out of a life of affluence in Connecticut after his father’s business failed. The family relocated to Los Angeles (The Valley. Reseda?) and while exploring his dumpy new good on his bike, Morgan comes across a robbery in progress. His quick thinking thwarts the crime, which is not a good thing for him because the robbery was being committed by the toughest kid in his new high school, an all-around thug named Nick (Paul Mones, who would later wrote a few JCVD flicks). Morgan’s good deed draws unwanted attention from Nick and his crew, but also welcome attention from Nick’s girlfriend, Frankie (Kim Richards). Morgan finds an unlikely ally in his rivalry with Nick in class clown, Jimmy (Downey Jr.), but even he is not enough to help the conflict escalation to multiple cases of attempted murder.
Tuff Turf was Spader’s first leading role and he had already settled into the cocky, preppy character he would become typecast for years later, albeit with a serious rebellious streak. It’s weird to see him here. (The climax is one long fistfight between him and Nick) when you mostly think of him as "the clean-cut jerk" - his turn in The New Kids an exception. Downey Jr. is good in a small role, one of his first and right before Weird Science and Back to School. He is mainly there to provide Spader’s character what he needed exactly when he needs it, be it a switchblade, a ride or cavalry in the form of his two pet Doberman Pinschers. But his manic performance acts as a welcome counterpoint to Spader’s brain dead "performance."
My main memory of this film was the enormous crush I got (as did everyone my age) for Kim Richards after watching this. Nowdays , Richards is best known as the self-perpetuating train wreck from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but once, Richards was a successful child star (not unlike Jodie Foster) of numerous Disney outings and zillions of TV shows. Tuff Turf was obvious an attempt for Richards to move on to more adult roles–complete with the obligatory, body-doubled love scene–but while she held her own with the material, as well or better than Spader and Downey Jr. did, this would prove not to be her gateway into a grown-up film career, but rather one of her last films altogether. She would go years largely inactive - about twenty years - until her truly amazing performance (as Christina Ricci's terrifying mother in Black Snake Moan (2007). Then Bravo called and that was that.
Richards wasn’t the only person to go on to a less than stellar career. The film was director Fritz Kiersch’s second film (following 1984’s Children of the Corn), and he went on down the B-movie spiral (direct to video). And of the trio of writers responsible for this film, Jette Rinck, Greg Collins O’Neil and Murray Michaels, only Collins O’Neil would have any credits after this - "technical advisor" for the 1996 T&A fiesta, Little Witches - also notable for being a ripoff(!) of the Alyssa Milano T&A fiesta, 1995's Embrace of the Vampire AND featuring the four-foot Zelda Rubenstein (Poltergeist - "look into the light!") in her final role.
Cat Sassoon, Vidal's daughter ( as "Feather" ) would later star in Angel Fist (1993?) - featuring the best topless fight scene in cinema, a few years before a fatal cocaine overdose.
The film does have its moments where it kinda works, but there are a whole lot (and lots) more moments where it just doesn’t work at all. It’s a film best enjoyed if you don’t ask those annoying questions that deserve to be answered. Such as, why did Morgan’s dad (Matt Clark, with at least a hundred roles to his credit, you'll know him when you see him) relocate the family to Los Angeles to become a cab driver when he lost his business instead of some place closer to Connecticut, like say New York City? Were switchblades really that prevalent in Los Angeles high schools of the 1980s? Did impromptu yet impeccably choreographed dance numbers spontaneously erupt in punk rock shows? And are we supposed to believe the cast, well in their twenties, are High School Students?
A lot of the issues here come with the variance (or schizophrenic) of tone. One example: about halfway through the film. There’s a “I’ll show you my world, you show me yours” scene the type you’d find in many teen comedies of the day. Morgan takes Frankie, Jimmy and Frankie’s friend, Ronnie (Olivia Barash, Repo Man and 1988's Patty Hearst) on a ride through Beverly Hills to show them how the other half lives (which now has an added level of comedy as we see Frankie looking out of the window, wistfully gazing at the million dollar homes. It’s supposed to be her looking at something that she’ll never have. All I was hearing as I was watching it was Kim Richards saying “I’ll live there, they’ll be a hair-pulling fight there, me and my friends will get drunk there, there and there”).
Morgan takes them to a country club luncheon and the film becomes an all-out farce as the slum kids try to fit in with the stuck-up trust fund yuppies and stuffed shirts. Truly awful and funny. Then things get serious as Morgan takes the stage and pitches woo to Frankie in song. This is that song:
“I feel your face/I hear your eyes.”
That poor girl couldn’t help but fall in love with Morgan right then and there. And, no, that’s not James Spader’s voice (it was actually that of Paul Carney, who I believe was Art Carney’s son, an L.A. piano bar musician at the time), but he should have gotten an Oscar nomination just for the passion with which he lip synced. (Though it's a single notch above dubbed kung-fu movies.)
The question becomes whether or not we should take that seriously. (A: No) The lyrics are absurd (not in an Ishtar way), but the context leads us to believe that it is a serious moment. Yet it takes place in a light and "humorous" scene. Of course, all bets are off during the third act, where a crazed Nick shoots Morgan’s father (Matt Clark). That’s when things turn really serious from then on out. Except over the end credits where we get a dance sequence featuring Morgan, Frankie, Jimmy and Ronnie celebrating the fact that they are all still alive. I think.
The soundtrack is also odd (for the better) for this sort of fare. While it's synth heavy because, well, the 80s, it wasn’t quite as pop-oriented as most soundtracks were at the time. No, there wasn’t any songs by Irene Cara or Kenny Loggins. Instead, we get Lene Lovich (the poor man's Laurie Anderson), Southside Johnny, Marianne Faithful and The Jim Carroll Band ( "People Who Died"). Carroll, a legendary artist and diarist whose writings were adapted for the (watered down) Leonardo DiCaprio/Mark Wahlberg vehicle, The Basketball Diaries, appears as himself in the film, fronting Jimmy’s band(!). Carroll looking gaunt here, later succumbed to heroin.
An L.A. bar band of the time, Jack Mack and the Heart Attacks, also appear in the film and on the soundtrack. A square version of Huey Lewis and the News, as it were.
Video:
Tuff Turf is presented on a Blu-ray in a 1.85.1 widescreen transfer in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer that was taken from a new 2k scan. While the image can and does look a little soft in the way that certain 80's movies tend to be, this is clearly how it was shot and not an issue with what is otherwise a very good picture. There's some minor print damage here and there in the form of some white specks but nothing too distracting. The film's color scheme looks excellent, the frequently garish fashions really pop at times, and there's good depth and texture. Even the softer moments, which are common, show noticeably better detail than DVD could have provided. No problem with compression to note and the picture is free of noise reduction and edge enhancement issues.
Audio:
The English language DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, which is the only option for the feature, is also of excellent quality. Optional subtitles are provided in English only. This track sounds great. Dialogue is crisp and clear and the levels are balanced properly. No problems with any hiss or any distortion to complain about. Good range, nice depth. The audio here is really strong.
The Extras:
The main extra on the disc is a commentary track with director Fritz Kiersch, and it's a very good one. Kiersch has a lot to say about the picture and covers plenty of ground here. He speaks about how he came onboard to direct the picture, working with Spader and the rest of the cast, how he believes the film has retained its following over the years, the period detail that is a big part of its appeal and the film's distinct look among other topics.
Additionally, the disc includes a trailer for the feature.
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Reviews with images
...Where ruputations are earned...in High Definition...
I'm so excited that Tuff Turf finally got it's blu-ray release.And the transfer looks amazing!!!What an immensely enjoyable blast from the past this movie truly is.This is the 1980s at it's finest.I love that the film is set around Los Angeles but it utilizes more realistic locations, such as Reseda and various areas around the Valley.This also has an incredibly infectious soundtrack, including hits by the Jim Carroll Band and Jack Mack and the Heart Attack.If you're a fan ofa) James Spaderb) Robert Downey Jr.c) Kim Richardsd) 1980sor all of the above, then this movie is for you.Check, check, check and check.Sadly, there is nothing much in the way of special features, besides a feature-length commentary by director Fritz Kiersch and the original theatrical trailer.Also includes a reversible insert with different covers.SO, Tuff Turf fans rejoice, this transfer by Kino Lorber is beyond worthy.It really does look great.A few of my favorite blu-ray releases have been released by Kino.They do incredible work.HIGH recommend.
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Marty88mph
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