Indeed the surprise here is Joan Jett playing the rock obsessed sister of Michael J. Fox, constantly at odds with parents Gena Rowlands and Jason Miller, and anxious to break into the music business in spite of a hanger on boyfriend and illegitimate baby. The writers easily could have made Jett's character rather one dimensional, but it's easy to see all of the shading in her very unhappy character, stuffing meat into the coat jacket of the toddler and literally getting away with shoplifting. She definitely wants to get out of blue collar Cleveland, but there's not much hope so she ends up working in Cleveland dive clubs as big brother Fox looks on, hoping that he can somehow reconcile her with their dying mother.
Very slice of life, even if those slices are slightly tainted, and it's a unique part for Fox as well who obviously wanted to get past his clean cut Alex Keaton "Family Ties" reputation. Rowlands and Miller are exceptional as the very religious, strictly by the book no nonsense parents, although Rowlands does back down from the constant preaching as she realizes how it has estranged her from her daughter. Definitely a product of the 80's, and Jett definitely showed more promise as an actress than Madonna or Cyndi Lauper. The rock atmosphere is subtle and never overpowering, and that adds dimension to Jett who gets to walk away with the movie because she seems a natural. No one expected that which must have lit her day with the critics, and it's glorious to see how Jett's character manages to turn everything around because of a family bond even she didn't expect to find.
Very slice of life, even if those slices are slightly tainted, and it's a unique part for Fox as well who obviously wanted to get past his clean cut Alex Keaton "Family Ties" reputation. Rowlands and Miller are exceptional as the very religious, strictly by the book no nonsense parents, although Rowlands does back down from the constant preaching as she realizes how it has estranged her from her daughter. Definitely a product of the 80's, and Jett definitely showed more promise as an actress than Madonna or Cyndi Lauper. The rock atmosphere is subtle and never overpowering, and that adds dimension to Jett who gets to walk away with the movie because she seems a natural. No one expected that which must have lit her day with the critics, and it's glorious to see how Jett's character manages to turn everything around because of a family bond even she didn't expect to find.