Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Corrine Burns (Diane Lane) is a 17-year-old girl whose mother has recently died from lung cancer and father was killed fighting in Vietnam over 10 years ago. Working in a fast food restaurant to help…
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Corrine Burns (Diane Lane) is a 17-year-old girl whose mother has recently died from lung cancer and father was killed fighting in Vietnam over 10 years ago. Working in a fast food restaurant to help support herself and her younger sister in the small steel mill Pennsylvania town of Charleston, Corrine is interviewed by a local television station for a story about her small town's dwindling economy among the early 1980s recession. During the interview, Corrine becomes angry and hostile towards the reporter, eventually lashing out at her overbearing and condescending boss and getting fired. The segment resonates with the station's teenage viewers, who see Connie as a kindred spirit. The station does a follow-up interview, which primarily consists of Connie acting flippant and making sarcastic remarks to the reporter. However, she does manage to slip in a plug for her garage band "The Stains", which consists of her, her sister Tracy (Marin Kanter), and their cousin Jessica (Laura Dern). Emboldened by appearing on television, Corrine attends a concert organized by small-time promoter, a hip Jamacian named Lawnboy (Barry Ford), featuring the washed-up metal band The Metal Corpses and their opening act, an up-and-coming British punk band called The Looters. Eager to end the hostilities between the exhausted Metal Corpses and the hedonistic Looters, Lawnboy signs the Stains without having heard them perform. Corrine, Jessica and Tracy join the tour, witnessing firsthand the bands' animosity towards each other, largely the result of the conflict between the aging Lou (Fee Waybill), the frontman of the Metal Corpses, and Billy (Ray Winstone), the volatile lead singer of the Looters. At their first show, the Stains prove to be completely incompetent as a band: Neither Jessica nor Tracy can play their instruments, and Corrine sings in an off-key monotone. The audience reacts angrily, prompting Corrine to lash out at them for a variety of real and perceived mistakes. After the show, the Metal Corpses guitar player Jerry (Vince Welnick) has fatally overdosed in the bathroom, and the band leaves the tour. Soon after, Lawnboy makes the Looters the new headliners with the Stains as their opening act. However, a dissatisfied Billy asks Lawnboy to replace the Stains with another band as soon as possible. At their next show, Corrine debuts a more extreme punk look, with her hair dyed to resemble a skunk and see-through blouse worn over a pair of bikini briefs. Announcing that she "never puts out", she goes on another angry speech, grabbing more media attention. While male reporters focus on Corrine's antisocial attitude and the band's need of talent, female reporters understand Corrine's criticisms as calls for female empowerment and hail the Stains as a new voice of feminism. The Stains soon become a national sensation, with girls all over the country emulating Corrine in every way possible, from dyeing their hair to running away from home. During a stop at a motel, Billy attempts to seduce Corrine by sharing his feelings about the band and his alleged private shame of being illiterate. Over the course of their conversation, Billy recites the lyrics to a song, "Join the Professionals" which sums up his most personal feelings about the state of the world. Corrine responds to his advances in which she and Billy have sex for the first time. At their next stop, the band is met by Lawnboy's agent, Dave Robell (David Clennon), with the intended replacement act for the Stains (Black Randy and the Metrosquad). Although Billy tells Corrine that he only wanted her replaced early on for the tour, Corrine lashes out at him, and at the Stains' next show, they play a cover version of Billy's song, which skyrockets the band to even further stardom. With Robell's encouragement, Corrine signs a new contract, cutting Lawnboy out of any royalties and making the Stains the new headliners of the tour. At the next show, Billy delivers a speech to the crowd about how the Stains have betrayed their "never put out" mantra by becoming corporate sellouts. When the Stains come onstage, the fans raise an uproar and Corrine is attacked by a girl with a tube of hair dye. The tour becomes a financial disaster and Robell cancels the Stains' contract. Corrine responds by threatening him with a bottle opener and taking the money he's been withholding from her; Corrine then gives the money to Lawnboy an an apology. The next morning, Corrine appears on television, where a hostile male reporter chastises her for being a poor role model to her fans. Billy apologizes for ruining Corrine's career and asks her to come back as the Looters' opening act for the tour. Corrine refuses; as she wanders the streets, she overhears a radio broadcast identifying the Stains' first song as a hit record. In the final scene, set sometime in the future, the Stains made their debut on MTV, having become a successful act on Lawnboy's new record label.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Comedy,Drama,Music
Film Details
Corrine Burns (Diane Lane) is a 17-year-old girl whose mother has recently died from lung cancer and father was killed fighting in Vietnam over 10 years ago. Working in a fast food restaurant to help support herself and her younger sister in the small steel mill Pennsylvania town of Charleston, Corrine is interviewed by a local television station for a story about her small town's dwindling economy among the early 1980s recession. During the interview, Corrine becomes angry and hostile towards the reporter, eventually lashing out at her overbearing and condescending boss and getting fired.
The segment resonates with the station's teenage viewers, who see Connie as a kindred spirit. The station does a follow-up interview, which primarily consists of Connie acting flippant and making sarcastic remarks to the reporter. However, she does manage to slip in a plug for her garage band "The Stains", which consists of her, her sister Tracy (Marin Kanter), and their cousin Jessica (Laura Dern).
Emboldened by appearing on television, Corrine attends a concert organized by small-time promoter, a hip Jamacian named Lawnboy (Barry Ford), featuring the washed-up metal band The Metal Corpses and their opening act, an up-and-coming British punk band called The Looters. Eager to end the hostilities between the exhausted Metal Corpses and the hedonistic Looters, Lawnboy signs the Stains without having heard them perform. Corrine, Jessica and Tracy join the tour, witnessing firsthand the bands' animosity towards each other, largely the result of the conflict between the aging Lou (Fee Waybill), the frontman of the Metal Corpses, and Billy (Ray Winstone), the volatile lead singer of the Looters.
At their first show, the Stains prove to be completely incompetent as a band: Neither Jessica nor Tracy can play their instruments, and Corrine sings in an off-key monotone. The audience reacts angrily, prompting Corrine to lash out at them for a variety of real and perceived mistakes. After the show, the Metal Corpses guitar player Jerry (Vince Welnick) has fatally overdosed in the bathroom, and the band leaves the tour.
Soon after, Lawnboy makes the Looters the new headliners with the Stains as their opening act. However, a dissatisfied Billy asks Lawnboy to replace the Stains with another band as soon as possible. At their next show, Corrine debuts a more extreme punk look, with her hair dyed to resemble a skunk and see-through blouse worn over a pair of bikini briefs.
Announcing that she "never puts out", she goes on another angry speech, grabbing more media attention. While male reporters focus on Corrine's antisocial attitude and the band's need of talent, female reporters understand Corrine's criticisms as calls for female empowerment and hail the Stains as a new voice of feminism. The Stains soon become a national sensation, with girls all over the country emulating Corrine in every way possible, from dyeing their hair to running away from home.
During a stop at a motel, Billy attempts to seduce Corrine by sharing his feelings about the band and his alleged private shame of being illiterate. Over the course of their conversation, Billy recites the lyrics to a song, "Join the Professionals" which sums up his most personal feelings about the state of the world. Corrine responds to his advances in which she and Billy have sex for the first time.
At their next stop, the band is met by Lawnboy's agent, Dave Robell (David Clennon), with the intended replacement act for the Stains (Black Randy and the Metrosquad). Although Billy tells Corrine that he only wanted her replaced early on for the tour, Corrine lashes out at him, and at the Stains' next show, they play a cover version of Billy's song, which skyrockets the band to even further stardom. With Robell's encouragement, Corrine signs a new contract, cutting Lawnboy out of any royalties and making the Stains the new headliners of the tour.
At the next show, Billy delivers a speech to the crowd about how the Stains have betrayed their "never put out" mantra by becoming corporate sellouts. When the Stains come onstage, the fans raise an uproar and Corrine is attacked by a girl with a tube of hair dye. The tour becomes a financial disaster and Robell cancels the Stains' contract.
Corrine responds by threatening him with a bottle opener and taking the money he's been withholding from her; Corrine then gives the money to Lawnboy an an apology. The next morning, Corrine appears on television, where a hostile male reporter chastises her for being a poor role model to her fans. Billy apologizes for ruining Corrine's career and asks her to come back as the Looters' opening act for the tour.
Corrine refuses; as she wanders the streets, she overhears a radio broadcast identifying the Stains' first song as a hit record. In the final scene, set sometime in the future, the Stains made their debut on MTV, having become a successful act on Lawnboy's new record label..