Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Because of my love for Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in the popular TV show Sex and the City, I found it necessary for me to take advantage of the oppertunity to watch her film, Girls Just Want to Have Fun for this assignment. Though it is hard to watch her as a different character I enjoyed this movie. After watching Dirty Dancing, Girls Just Want to Have Fun is very similar except set in the 80's.

The movie starts out with Janey (SJP) at her first day of school at a new catholic school. She has recently moved to Chicago, and at this point had no friends. She is in class acting very nervous, but who wouldn't be with those nuns? She talks about her love for Dance TV. She grabs the attention of another rebellious student named Lynne. Both of them are huge fans of the TV show and become instant friends. That day while watching the show together, they learn that there will be auditions for new "DTV" regulars. To her father's dismay she goes to the audition anyway and tries out along with Lynne. Also auditioning for the spot is another classmate, Natalie. Natalie is the typical rich girl in school who gets everything she wants. Natalie will do anything to win, and even goes as far as paying off Lynne's audition partner in order to cut out some of the competition. Natalie and Janey make the cut. Janey is paired with a guy named Jeff. Natalie tries to find a way to eliminate them also. To do so, she invites Jeff to a ball at her father's country club. Janey and Lynne make copies of the invitation and give them out to all types of people (punk, transvestites, and even female body builders.) As the uninvited guests ruin her party, Natalie declares "war" on the girls, who are watching from a window.

Natalie's father is embarressed about the party, and agrees to help his daughter win the contest. He threatens Janey's partner that his father will lose his job if he doesn't drop out of the contest. He goes against him and enters the contest anyway. Meanwhile, Janey has been caught sneaking out to rehearse and is grounded by her father. Yet this doesn't stop her from sneaking out again and Lynne helps her do so. When it is finally time for the DTV finals, it comes down to a danceoff between Natalie and her partner, and Janey and Jeff. Because of the tie, the danceoff is very intense. Surprise Surprise Janey and Jeff win the dance off and named the new DTV regulars. But it doesn't stop there, Lynne rides in on a chariot filling in for Miss DTV who had quit, and she is then named the new Miss DTV. Of course in the end they all get what they want.

This film is alot like Dirty Dancing. The teens just want to do what they love, Dance. The fathers in both movies disapprove of the daughter's choice. The daughters go against them anyway, and in the end everyone is happy! Typical 80's film. Helen Hunt who plays Lynne brings most of the comedy to the movie. SJP's role is rather disappointing as compared to her character in Sex and the City. But it was very much what i expected from an 80's teen film.