A Trident Release of an American New Wave Film. Produced, directed, written by Norman Thaddeus Vane.
Billie ... Brittany McCrenna
Diamond Jim ... Sonny Landham
Miguelito ... Robert Miano
Star ... Tina Fite
Mercedes ... Mirage Micheaux
Candy ... Michele Hess
Bobby ... Randall Irwin
Sparkle ... Josie Boyd
Chango ... Chris Cho
Hit Man ... Chris Lim
Jojo ... Russ Landery
Lowisa ... LeOnna Small
The sleazy side of L.A.'s dance club cum hostess-for-hire scene forms the rudiments of the subpar indie "Taxi Dancers." In rather hyperbolic tones, its press kit offers "the first movie ever made about the subculture of taxi dancing." It is just one of many stated and tacit elements rife with sizzle but lean on substance. Flaccid sexploitationer has extremely limited theatrical potential, with video prospects only marginally better.
The bare-bones plot trots out the hoary, by-the-numbers saga of the innocent young girl who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. Billie (Brittany McCrenna) walks into one of these clubs, immediately gets hired and somehow remains slightly above the fray of drugs, prostitution and serious crime.
Instead, she's caught between two men -- a penniless musician (Randall Irwin) and a freewheeling cowboy (Sonny Landham) who owes a small fortune to Vegas gamblers. Also, there are the myriad travails of her better-traveled fellow hostesses. It doesn't add up to a lot -- certainly nothing that provides insight or compassion to the plight of the story's characters.
Seesawing between the banal and the embarrassing, and too serious in tone to be entertainingly laughable, the film provides a veritable checklist of filmmaking "don'ts." Writer/director/producer Norman Thaddeus Vane encourages a shrill acting style reminiscent of 1950s expose features. His visual technique might charitably be called inelegant if there were any indication of craft. Storytelling is simply not a factor in the mix.
Camera (color), Richard Jones; editors, Peter Ransohoff , Reinhard Schreiner; music, Jeffrey Silverman, Larry Blank; production design, Dave Blass. Reviewed at American Film Market, Santa Monica, Feb. 26, 1993. Running time: 92 min.
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Date in print: Thu., Mar. 11, 1993