A Rock & Roll Fable

"Another time. Another place."

So reads the opening line for a movie we hate loving. One we deny owning and disavow quoting. But just like the line at the keg, you'll see us come back time and time again for more even if it blurs our vision and taints our judgement of what's considered cinematic genius.

You know the story but not the script. The music but not the soundtrack. It's James Dean meets Bladerunner. Cool Hand Luke meets Escape From New York. Clint Eastwood meets The Warriors. It's lever-action Winchesters. Thundering motorcycles. Raging bonfires. Reluctant heroes. Evil villains. Singing sidekicks. Everything you could possibly want to see in a span of 93 minutes.

It's 1950s iconography with 1980s aestetics. Doo-wop for the MTV generation. A comic-book storyline with moving parts. A rock opera with neon lights and West Side Story influences. It's classic B-Movie acting with A-movie cult appeal.

It's Streets of Fire. A Rock and Roll Fable. And just like that magic mixture of hops, water and barley, it's our guilty pleasure.


The Story
"Tom Cody is summoned home to rescue his estranged ex-girlfriend and rock diva Ellen Aim who's been kidnapped by Raven, the leader of the Bombers motorcycle gang. During the required explosions and needed gunplay a movie like this requires under California state law, Cody breaks into the Battery (the bad part of town) and saves his old flame. Not to be outdone, Raven and the Bombers seek revenge by rolling into the Richmond (the good part of town) and lighting the place on fire. It all culminates into a last-man-standing showdown with two gunslingers at high noon in the town square with charmed pick-axes instead of pistols.

The Characters
Michael Pare' (Tom Cody): Yeah, it's Eddie from that Cruisers movie. Like that one, this movie plays to Pare's strengths; he doesn't have to do much but say little and throw the occasional punch. His character's late-'50s wardrobe and late-'60s self-centered attitude creates a reluctant hero you love and hate.

Diane Lane (Ellen Aim): With legs that stretch into next week and unbelievably accurate lip-synching, Lane captures the essence of a rock-and-roll princess. As Ellen Aim, she looks like Pate Benetar, acts like Bruce Springsteen and sounds like Stevie Nicks covering Meat Loaf. We love her anyway.

Willem DaFoe (Raven):As a prototypical villain complete with black eyeliner and wearing overalls that look eerily similar to Hefty Trashbags (consider it a bad trend of the early '80s), DaFoe leaves little doubt who you're intended to boo and hiss. Arguably one of the most underappreciated actors of the past 25 years, this is the first movie he helped carry as a main title character. Wonder if he sleeps well at night knowing he didn't drop the ball on this one.

Rick Moranis (Billy Fish):Pre-Ghostbusters, Moranis does an admirable job as Lane's current manager/boyfriend who's short-man complex is only compounded by his big mouth. He views Cody as a relic of a bad past and only with deep reluctance does he agree to Cody's involvement. He also drips with a geeky weasel quality that just begs for an ass kick.

The Soundtrack
This is the soundtrack that makes you wonder why the '80s had to leave so soon. When it comes to original rock soundtracks, there are few better. Ever hear of the Blasters? Think Stray Cats before the Stray Cats. These guys, with classic rock-a-billy flair, give 1950s rock and roll a touch of attitude you can only find in a pissed-off Stratocaster. "Nowhere Fast" and "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young" was actually recorded by Fire, Inc., a group of studio musicians that sounded nothing like it. "Sorcerer", the second cut on the LP, was a song later covered by Stevie Nicks herself. But here's one caveat: you have to see the movie first to truly appreciate the soundtrack. It stands well on its own but reaches another level when one of the songs instantly causes you to replay a movie scene in your head.

The Reason It Failed
The studio simply released it at the wrong time. Streets of Fire had the misfortune of being released in the same two-week period back in 1983 as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, Gremlins and Star Trek III. According to none other than legendary film critic Gene Siskel, that's why audiences ignored it, critics lambasted it and this rock & roll fantasy seemingly disappeared into obscurity.

The Reason We Love It
The good guy flies around town in a red convertible 1949 Buick Roadmaster. The bad guys put your surround sound to the test with rumbling motorcycles. The music sets the right mood at the right time, and the quick action sequences are balanced with slow, long shadows that bounce off the lense at the perfect moment. They fight with pick-axes. They blow stuff up. And the last five minutes of the movie will leave every chick saying "no way" with every guy saying "right f'in' on, bro".

Bottom line? Go somewhere else if you're looking for a film with redeeming qualitites that push the artform forward. Look elsewhere if you expect your movie experience to be filled with Kafka-esque social commentaries regarding hidden truths. This is just your classic musical-action-fantasy flick that, thanks to a setting that's vague in time and place, hasn't aged a bit even if the wardrobes have just a tad.

Oh, and it's much better if you're drunk.