Slaves to the Underground

Love sex insanity. Thank God you're only young once.

Shelly plays guitar and sings backing vocals for the Olympia band, No Exits, a feminist punk band. Dating the lead singer, Suzy, getting up to hijinks with the rest of the band and the fans they've accumulated, and receiving attention from record labels, it seems like life is on the up-and-up for her. But when her ex-boyfriend Jimmy shows up in her life again, everything starts to unravel.

Lesbians. Feminism. Rock and/or Roll. What's not to love? Well, quite a bit apparently. I wanted to like this film, I really did, but it just didn't work for me. Molly Gross never really convinces as someone who's supposed to be so conflicted by the emotions welling up inside of her, seeming far too subdued in her performance. Jason Bortz puts in a somewhat erratic performance as Jimmy, almost bored in one scene, and then solid in the next. Marisa Ryan (New York Undercover, Brooklyn Lobster), on the other hand, is larger-than-life and carries this film in the scenes she's in as Suzy. Easily the most accomplished actress in the cast, she attacks her role with verve, making this film seem a lot better than it actually is, at least as long as she's on screen.

The plot isn't anything particularly special, though it is servicable. A film like this doesn't require reams of plot, but good character interaction and dialogue is a must, and Slaves to the Underground falls short in these departments. It does manage to be amusing during some of the characters brief monologues to the camera, but those moments are few and far between. Moreover, things that really should have had more consideration, such as Shelly's rape and its effects upon her, or the feelings of both Brenda and Zoe as the band implodes are barely touched upon. And dear god, why did they throw in a male masturbation scene? It really serves no other purpose than to gross out the audience, and it's something I could really have done without seeing.

I think the thing that irritated me the most about the story was how they went about the feminist movement. Apparently it's all about humiliating men and vandalism. The only truly feminist moment in the film is when Suzy is on stage and gives a short little speech before the band performs, somewhat conflicted by the fact she just beat the crap out of Dale in front of the entire audience; everything else is just saying that women who seek empowerment are nothing more than hooligans. The sexuality angle is also pretty much untouched, but I'm always somewhat confused as to whether that's a good or a bad thing. Good that it doesn't need to be, or bad that it's just pushed away, and issues relating to it are just swept under the bed? I think I fall in the later camp, to be honest - I do love me some lesbian angst.

Probably the most impressive thing about Slaves to the Underground is its soundtrack. The songs performed by the No Exits are pretty good, Red Five's Betty Carmellini and Jenni McElrath writing some strong and vivid lyrics, though both Molly Gross and Marisa Ryan's singing could be better. But it's the other tracks that really make the film, populated by some of the lesser-known riot-grrl bands that propogated in the 90's, not to mention Joan Jett and the always marvellous Ani DiFranco. Curiously, the latter only has one song, playing through the credits, which serves as somewhat of a continuance of the mood of Shelly's solo song at the end of the film (for which Molly Gross gives her best vocal performance in the film), mellower but still slightly ascerbic in the lyrics.

Slaves to the Underground really isn't worth the time spent watching it, not even for Marisa Ryan's performance, good as it was. The musical subculture, the feminism, the lesbianism, all of it can be found far better done in movies out there that you should be viewing instead.

3/10

-- Reviewed on October the 3^rd, 2007.

Find more details about Slaves to the Underground over at The Internet Movie Database.