Rolling Stone No. 329, October 30 1980

Posted on 21st April 2016 in "Times Square"

TIMES SQUARE movie ad on page 29 of Rolling Stone No. 329, October 30, 1980

 

 

 


Sorry to jump back in time a few weeks, but I only just got this one. It’s another full-page movie teaser ad, this one from page 29 of the the October 30 Rolling Stone. It’s the same as the others, only bigger. Well, that and the colors behind the tagline and the strip at the bottom, which have changed from blue and black, respectively, to green.

Cover of Rolling Stone No. 329, October 30, 1980, featuring The Cars

The Cars were the cover story in this issue. Other films that had full-page ads were Bad Timing and Motel Hell. Bad Timing was also the main topic of an interview with Art Garfunkel, while Paul Simon gave an interview about his movie One Trick Pony.

The big news was the death of John Bonham.

None of which has anything to do with Robin Johnson or Times Square, except maybe as a partial illustration of the world in which the movie was being released, and the 1980 Rolling Stone audience to whom the filmmakers were trying to market it here.

 

“Times Square” Rolling Stone 30 Oct. 1980: 29. Print.
 
©1980 Straight Arrow Publishers Inc.
 
Times Square ©1980 StudioCanal/Canal+

 

“Crude cliches clutter up ‘Times Square’”

Posted on 11th April 2016 in "Times Square"

Review of "Times Square" from the Montreal Gazette, October 25, 1980.  Text:  The GAZETTE, Montreal, Saturday, October 25,1980 107 FILM Crude cliches clutter up 'Times Square’ TIMES SQUARE Atwater A Robert Stigwood production; directed by Alan Moyle; screenplay by Jacob Brackman from a story by Alan Moyle and Leanne Unger; starring Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado and Tim Curry. By BRUCE BAILEY of The Gazette The plot of Times Square is so full of holes it looks like it was smashed by a jackhammer. This story of two runaway teenage girls and their exploits on New York’s sin strip is also covered with about as many crude cliches as the wall of a public washroom. On the other hand, Times Square is sometimes driven by a refreshing energy, much of it generated by the tough-talking Robin Johnson — a 16-year-old making her acting debut. And Quebec- born Alan Moyle has directed this American-produced film with some of the appealing, down-to-earth style that he brought to his low-budget independent movies (The Rubber Gun Show and Montreal Main). This will probably not add up to enough to satisfy most adult movie-goers, but the film may go over big with teenyboppers anyway. They’re likely to try to sneak around the age restrictions — just as they did successfully with Saturday Night Fever —> drawn in this time by star Tim Curry (the lead in the cultish  Rocky Horror Picture Show) and by the film’s double-album soundtrack of contemporary rock’n’roll. The mandatory teenage rebellion is there, too. In this case, the upstarts are street-wise Nicky Marotta (Johnson) and Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado), naive daughter of a knee-jerk liberal politician. Lonely Pamela, attracted by Nicky’s piz-zaz, is lured out of the hospital where the two shared a room for neurological tests. It’s assumed at first that this is a kidnapping, but the  two actually develop a friendship as they set up housekeeping in an abandoned warehouse. The two become cult figures (calling themselves the Sleez Sisters), thanks to a late-night radio disc jockey (Curry). He resorts to a string of worn-out catch-phrases to hold the runaways up as symbols of freedom. Nicky’s new-found talent as a “writer” and performer of “punk” lyrics makes the girls even more famous — but the road to glory, naturally, is littered with a few rocky conflicts. Certain incidents are either inexplicable or unbelievable. As a trademark of their protests against the establishment, for example, the girls start throwing television sets off buildings. (Where did these TVs come from? Why is nobody hit on such crowded streets?) At another point, Pam gets a job dancing with her top on at a topless bar, because the manager thinks it will give the place “class.” (Yeah. Right.) It’s also not likely that the two could hang around Times Square so long and not get hassled by the street people. And it’s even less likely that Pam could elude the police so long — particularly when she makes a practise of standing around in public and in front of a large “wanted” poster with her picture on it. The list goes on. But, well, it’s still fun. Take two boppers and call me in the morning. Robin Johnson wants to become a rock star in ‘Times Square’

 

Mr. Bailey wants to like the movie, he really does, but he just can’t see it appealing to adults, because gosh darn it it just doesn’t make any sense. It may appeal to the Tiger Beat audience though, because as he admits, “it’s still fun.” He also sees the key to why anybody is still talking about it so many years later: it’s “driven by a refreshing energy, much of it generated by the tough-talking Robin Johnson…”

Crude cliches clutter up ‘Times Square’
TIMES SQUARE
Atwater
A Robert Stigwood production; directed by Alan Moyle; screenplay by Jacob Brackman from a story by Alan Moyle and Leanne Unger; starring Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado and Tim Curry.
By BRUCE BAILEY
of The Gazette
The plot of Times Square is so full of holes it looks like it was smashed by a jackhammer.
This story of two runaway teenage girls and their exploits on New York’s sin strip is also covered with about as many crude cliches as the wall of a public washroom.
On the other hand, Times Square is sometimes driven by a refreshing energy, much of it generated by the tough-talking Robin Johnson — a 16-year-old making her acting debut. And Quebec-born Alan Moyle has directed this American-produced film with some of the appealing, down-to-earth style that he brought to his low-budget independent movies (The Rubber Gun Show and Montreal Main).
This will probably not add up to enough to satisfy most adult movie-goers, but the film may go over big with teenyboppers anyway.
They’re likely to try to sneak around the age restrictions — just as they did successfully with Saturday Night Fever — drawn in this time by star Tim Curry (the lead in the cultish Rocky Horror Picture Show) and by the film’s double-album soundtrack of contemporary rock’n’roll.
The mandatory teenage rebellion is there, too. In this case, the upstarts are street-wise Nicky Marotta (Johnson) and Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado), naive daughter of a knee-jerk liberal politician.
Lonely Pamela, attracted by Nicky’s pizzaz, is lured out of the hospital where the two shared a room for neurological tests. It’s assumed at first that this is a kidnapping, but the two actually develop a friendship as they set up housekeeping in an abandoned warehouse.
The two become cult figures (calling themselves the Sleez Sisters), thanks to a late-night radio disc jockey (Curry). He resorts to a string of worn-out catch-phrases to hold the runaways up as symbols of freedom.
Nicky’s new-found talent as a “writer” and performer of “punk” lyrics makes the girls even more famous — but the road to glory, naturally, is littered with a few rocky conflicts.
Certain incidents are either inexplicable or unbelievable. As a trademark of their protests against the establishment, for example, the girls start throwing television sets off buildings. (Where did these TVs come from? Why is nobody hit on such crowded streets?)
At another point, Pam gets a job dancing with her top on at a topless bar, because the manager thinks it will give the place “class.” (Yeah. Right.) It’s also not likely that the two could hang around Times Square so long and not get hassled by the street people.
And it’s even less likely that Pam could elude the police so long — particularly when she makes a practise of standing around in public and in front of a large “wanted” poster with her picture on it.
The list goes on. But, well, it’s still fun. Take two boppers and call me in the morning.

 

 

Bailey, Bruce. “Crude Cliches Clutter up ‘Times Square'” Rev. of Times Square. Gazette [Montreal] 25 Oct. 1980: 107. (work);
Gazette, Montreal, October 25 1980 p 107_1080px.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 7518 px (W), 96 dpi, 573 KB (image)

 

Times Square ©1980 StudioCanal/Canal+

 

Movie ad from the Trenton Times, October 19, 1980

Posted on 1st April 2016 in "Times Square"

Times Square movie ad, Sunday Times Magazine, October 19 1980, p.12; Trenton, NJ

 

 

Well.

This was in the local paper Sunday, October 19, and since I wouldn’t have clipped it before I’d seen the movie, Kurt and I must have seen it either opening night or Saturday. I remember we’d been looking forward to the New Tim Curry movie, and I guess now we’d been REALLY looking forward to it. There aren’t times listed for Friday or Saturday so I can’t be certain what showing it was, but I seem to recall wandering around the record stores in the mall after while waiting for whichever of our parents was coming to pick us up, so the 6:30 is a good bet.

I also saw it once again on my own after that, and made another round of the record stores, but I don’t remember what day that might have been. I do know that, though I may have gone the first time for Tim, I went back for Robin.

The Quaker Bridge 4 was the only area theater it was in. I think it ran for two weeks.

 

 

Times Square movie ad; clipping from Sunday Times Magazine, October 19 1980, p.12; Trenton, NJ (work);
1980-10-19 RJ TS Advertisement Sunday Times Magazine p 12 (Trenton)_layers_1080px.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 398 px (W), 96 dpi, 283 KB;
(image)

 

Times Square ©1980 StudioCanal/Canal+