A Linha do Amor

Lovelines is by no means deserves a reputation as the worst teen film of the '80s. It has some charm, particularly for '80s teen enthusiasts, and plenty of gaudy 1984 fashions, music, pop culture, footage of the Valley etc. It certainly isn't "Valley Girl" or "Fast Times.." but it is a worthy installment in the San Fernando Valley youth culture sub-genre. The plot is about the rivalry between Malibu High and Coldwater Canyon High with a Romeo & Juliet-like romance. Best of all is the movie's bad "rock" music concerning a battle of the bands with a hilariously awful all girl group and a rock band from the Valley. There's also a ridiculous costume party scene. It probably doesn't help that lead Greg Bradford was almost 30 playing a high school rocker, while director Rod Amateau (Garbage Pail Kids) was well in his 60s and far from knowing what was hip at the time. Mary Beth Evens and the very talented Michael Winslow actually fair quite well and the film is a well produced Tri-Star studio release. But either way the shortcomings add to the movie's cheese value, and it certainly is much less painful than dozens of other low budget, less professionally made teen films that swamped video stores in the '80s. These bad reviews for Lovelines probably comes from people who have only seen John Hughes and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.