This was on TV last night under the name "The Price of Beauty". I was tired at the time and couldn't be bothered to get up off the sofa, so I ended up watching it. Lucky, then, that this isn't a bad film at all! The basic storyline is about two country girls - Ruby and Holly - who move to the city to make money. Yes, I could say which places are involved but it's not actually that important. The part where it gets more interesting is that they audition to become Bunny Girls in one of Hugh Hefner's first establishments. This film could've used this idea as a way to gain a strong insight into how this empire worked back in the day, but unfortunately glosses over it a bit too much. It's implied that the working environment is tough and that standards are very high, but the film misses a trick here; they could've emphasised this more, which would've made the success and failure of the two heroines more succinct.
The acting varies from being very good (Marilu Henner and Rhea Perlman putting in good performances) to the very poor, and the club singer has some seriously scary make-up on. The music is also very good: I liked the music in the club, despite the fact that one of the tunes, "Gee Whiz", goes on long enough to make the 1812 Overture sound like something recorded by Napalm Death.
The film itself trots along at a gentle pace, with a smattering of touching moments to make it feel-good enough without being too syrupy. It has the odd comedy moment too, but the only laugh-out-loud parts are right at the very end of the film.
Maybe it was my partially catatonic state, but I actually enjoyed this film. It had enough about it to engage, it had likable characters and a good soundtrack. It isn't mind-fodder but then you don't always want that late on a Sunday night.
If you're after a film with a tight plot, fantastic script and peerless acting then you're looking in the wrong place; Moulin Rouge this isn't. However, if you're up for a bit of (relatively) mindless entertainment then you can do worse than this.
