Foxes Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Foxes Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 7, 2015

1980’s “Foxes” is a film trapped in the middle of two colliding eras. It’s a disco movie facing the sobering reality of a new decade, trying to capture the voice of a generation while it’s still in transition. The directorial debut for Adrian Lyne (who, amazingly, hasn’t made a picture since 2002’s “Unfaithful”), “Foxes” is more appreciable as a time capsule viewing event, depicting days of wayward youth in Los Angeles as they battle vampiric parents and personal demons on the road to adulthood. As a drama, it’s not a cohesive effort, with Lyne showing more interest in the perfection of cinematographic haze than characterization, gradually depending on melodrama and crude violence to make sure the audience walks away woozy. Great with surface details but light with significance, the feature doesn’t open the senses as Lyne imagines, but there’s periodic emotional value on display that makes it worth a look.

A child of Los Angeles, a product of a broken home, Jeanie (Jodie Foster) tries to keep her life together with the help of best friends Madge (Marilyn Kagan), Deirdre (Kandice Stroh), and Annie (Cherie Currie). Together, the teenagers share a pack mentality, protecting one another from the influence of boys, parents, and chemical abuse. However, Annie is losing the fight, with excessive ways threatening to destroy her, finding her abusive father planning to institutionalize the self-destructive adolescent. Jeanie, struggling with her own concerns as her mother, Mary (Sally Kellerman), seems unreachable during an intense time of need, begins to fight for Annie’s safety, working with Madge and Deirdre to find a safe haven, allowing the situation to cool down. As days pass, it proves impossible to maintain a peaceful existence, with bad habits and juvenile weaknesses rising up to challenge the young women and their illusion of maturity.

Right off the bat, Lyne is committed to securing the details of late-‘70s life for the average L.A. teenager. There are shots of used Clearasil tubes and pin-up images of John Travolta, while the initial grouping of the girls occurs at the breakfast table after a sleepover, witnessing shrill small talk and the feverish consumption of junk food. “Foxes” is terrific with introductions, nailing a time and place with ease before what passes for a story from screenwriter Gerald Ayres has a chance to take hold.

Immaturity buried under urban sophistication and thickening emotional scars is the theme of “Foxes,” following the characters as they interact with dysfunction and antagonism, working to hold together their little version of a family as the world conspires to separate them. Jeanie is the mother figure, smart and aware, out to protect Annie from the evils of the world she’s happy to interact with. Madge is the member of the gang practicing adulthood with Jay (Randy Quaid), an older lover who’s committed to a life of volatility with a 17-year-old girl. And Deirdre flirts with danger as she takes on multiple boyfriends, keeping her busy as the dynamic within the unit begins to break down. The titular characters are a fascinating bunch, content to sustain their reckless ways, even in the face of punishment and clear violations of trust. They’re selfish but never dismissed by Lyne, who maintains their mission to be “well-adjusted teenagers” to the bitter end, creating the only real dramatic through line that survives in “Foxes,” with the rest of the movie transforming into episodic misadventures (scored to “On the Radio,” the omnipresent hit song from Donna Summer) highlighting boy trouble, drug abuse, and domestic disturbances.

Perhaps the most satisfying conflict of “Foxes” is found between Jeanie and Mary, watching the mother-daughter relationship take on an unnerving sense of equality, with both ladies fighting suffocating insecurity and trouble with male attention. Beyond the fact that Foster and Kellerman deliver the best performances of the movie, the frayed bond is the closest “Foxes” comes to realism, finding a precise point of disappointment and yearning the rest of the feature is missing, capturing the foundation of behavioral wreckage that assists the comprehension of bizarre decisions made later in the picture. The other characters are less defined, finding Madge’s determination to be treated as an adult while still retaining her virginal appeal sped through by Lyne, who seems bored with the subplot; Annie never rises above junkie clichés, even while gifted an enticing cop-father-gone-mad motivation; and Deirdre is basically written out of the film at the midway point, curiously ignored as focus narrows to the rest of the girls.

Although “Foxes” deals with hyperactivity, Lyne doesn’t actually summon manic energy until the misguided finale, which replaces psychological exploration with chase sequences, After School Special-style melodrama, and stunts, working to exit the movie on a note of physical threat and tragedy. While the addition of a relatively stable male character (a skate rat played by Scott Baio) who connects with the young women is welcome, “Foxes” eventually flames out, avoiding a true assessment of conduct to whip up a frenzy and attempt to extract a few tears. It’s tremendously disappointing to watch Lyne succumb to formula simply to find a way out of the story.

Foxes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Challenging the demo potential of HD is Adrian Lyne, who orders up a monumentally gauzy look for "Foxes" that's successfully replicated here, despite some evident age. Clarity isn't king in the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation, but softness is intended and communicated to satisfaction during the viewing experience, with a true glimpse of cinematographic intent. Facial details are open for inspection, along with period locations and distances, and costume textures are preserved to a reasonable degree. Grain is heavy but rarely intrusive or overtly noisy. Delineation is adequate, with evening adventures holding shape. Colors are on the muted side, but remain communicative, with Currie's blonde hair and red neon signage adding snap, while skintones are acceptable. Print shows some wear and tear, but no major damage is detected.

Foxes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A musical movie, "Foxes" doesn't sound all that expansive with its 2.0 DTS-HD MA track, offering more of a thin listening experience despite a soundtrack of hits. Dialogue exchanges are satisfactory, isolating emotional expression without disruption, while the group dynamic is handled well. Rock and disco tunes don't have much firepower, but they aren't a bust either, holding more of a mechanical position, used to underline mood. Instrumentation is a little muddy, but not completely lost. Streetwise atmospherics are retained, and stunt sequences offer measured screeches and loud collisions.

Foxes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Adrian Lyne.

• Interview (9:13, HD) with Sally Kellerman doesn't exactly expose the creative drive of "Foxes," but the actress does share her thoughts on Lyne's directorial habits and her admiration of Foster, who routinely proved her professionalism. Kellerman also shares her concerns about HD photography and self-esteem issues it raises.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:10, HD) is included.

Foxes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The concept of "Foxes," dissecting the nature of bad influences (giving the characters no reason to mature), is often more interesting than the film itself. Lyne works his style in full, fogging up the visuals and concentrating on the atmosphere of any given location, and it's certainly impressive work for a first-time director. The overall push of "Foxes" to achieve a grander representation of the teen world at that time often blocks its intimate aspirations, shedding important characters and profound feelings as it moves from a marginally compelling slice-of-life event to a formulaic juvenile delinquent tale of severe consequences.