Jailbreakers (1994)

Directed by: William Friedkin

Written by: Debra Hill & Gigi Vorgan

Cast: Shannen Doherty, Antonio Sabato, Jr., and Adrien Brody

Plot:  Boy meets Girl.  Boy is actually a “Bad Boy Biker”, and Girl is supposedly “Good Girl Cheerleader”.  Boy goes to jail after crazy night with Girl, Girl gets indecisive, Boy wants out of jail, and there you have the reasoning behind the title!

Review:  Going into this film (and solely/ignorantly based on the cover), I assumed I’d be seeing an overall lesser effort by the generally well-regarded Billy Friedkin.  For full transparency, having just attended a screening at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) a few months prior where he spoke at a premiere of his latest film Killer Joe (as previously reviewed by Jake), my respect for the man and his cinematic creations had increased dramatically.  One only needs to bring up The Exorcist and The French Connection, and automatic placement in the upper echelon of directors should be assumed, regardless of the rest of his filmography (see Francis Ford Coppola).  All of this being considered, one must realize that even our greatest heroes have skeletons in their closet, this one in particular being a very chubby set of skull and bones.

I immediately knew I should have skipped this right when “Showtime Presents” came across the screen; quality doesn’t immediately spring to mind (at least before the 21^st Century).  Quality didn’t ensue either, as the hasty and uninteresting plot proceeded to delve out cliché moments of romance between young lovers from opposite sides of society; one a misunderstood rebel who never had a chance, and the other a star stuck teen (played ineffectively by then popular Shannen Doherty) just wanting some change from her boring Suburban life.  Can you say original?!?!  HA… um, no, of course you can’t. 

I assumed this film took place in the present day even 15 minutes into the picture (perhaps ignorantly) until enough dated cars and a reference to On The Waterfront being a new film made me realize it was the 1950s.  Maybe it should be forgiven for a potentially low budget (um, Showtime) but the setting gave an odd mix of old and new, including clothing and hair styles .  The acting didn’t help either (save for Adrien Brody in an early role) with characters like Doherty’s spurting out dialogue in a manner that felt completely out of place while lacking serious emotion (seriously laughable, especially she’s supposed to be 15 but looks 20!).  It felt like there was no real research into the period besides memories of older cast/crew, and no real interest to accurately portray it.    

There’s potential Friedkin had specific reasons for his seemingly lazy method here, or there were issues behind the scenes, leading to the dung heap we see on the screen.  Maybe he was trying to get some sort of imporant message across through a facade of cinematic coherence (and just TERRIBLE music, with quality seemingly derived from a 70's TV movie). Regardless, it can’t help save the end product from being utterly pointless and blah inducing.  I mean really, just plain BLAH.  Ahhhhhhh… just go watch To Live and Die in L.A. quality Friedkin, or Beverly Hills 90210 for some more “quality” Doherty acting.  If you’re even thinking about engaging this film, prep at least two drinks… and maybe a hammer.

Tid Bit:  After viewing I discovered this was actually in a series titled “Rebel Highway”, showcasing teleflicks inspired by B-movies of the 50s and 60s.  

Extra Tid Bit: I also discovered continually flossing my teeth for an hour would be more entertaining.

Drink of Choice: Prairie Fire. What basically entails 1 part Vodka and 1 part Tabasco sauce (at least in the local breakfast diner’s recipe), this concoction will most certainly wake you up to the fact that you’re losing brain cells watching this shit.