"Vice Girls" opens very promisingly, as vice cop Lana Clarkson chases two thugs on foot, catches up to them, they kick her gun out of her hands, so she proceeds to kick both of their asses in a matter of seconds with a couple of well-placed punches! Unfortunately, I have to report that this is pretty much the ONLY action scene in this entire film (unless you want to count a very brief catfight between the other two cops). What could have been a fun little romp with three strong and sexy women (the towering Clarkson is undeniably the most famous one, but my favorite is actually Liat Goodson) is spoiled by a distasteful plot (serial killer, snuff films, etc.), and some long, shapeless sequences that seem to go nowhere (especially the big party). Oh well, at least "Vice Girls" is still superior to the hard-to-sit-through "Vice Academy" films, so I'll give it ** out of 4.
10 Reviews
SHE KNEW MY PARTNER
nogodnomasters24 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Detective Jan Cooper (Lana Clarkson) has a drinking problem, likes sex in the ladies room, and has a comical fight choreographer. She teams up with two other cops with issues to tray to solve a case of murdered runaways, who are inevitably filmed nude because two of the cops don't take their tops off. This involves the adult film world in a story that is more about showing off silicon than the plot.
Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity ( "Barbarian Queen" Lana Clarkson, Heather Ward, Madelyn Knight, Peggy Trentini, Nicholl Rae)
Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity ( "Barbarian Queen" Lana Clarkson, Heather Ward, Madelyn Knight, Peggy Trentini, Nicholl Rae)
Disappointing...
Curtis G.8 September 2003
After having read the other reviews, I have to wonder: Is this movie *really* worth spending 83 minutes on? Here's my story: Liat Goodson caught my eye one day from the cover of the "Vice Girls" DVD. Some months later, I found it for a good price and decided to take a chance. I watched most of the movie at 8x speed because the only reason I bought it was to see Goodson. Naked. Which never happened. Sure, she looked fantastic in that red vinyl dress and her accent is killer, but where's the payoff? I guess I should have been more diligent about finding one of those celebrity nudity databases first.
So while I doubt that the comedic value of the movie will offset my disappointment, maybe it's worth another look. Probably not.
So while I doubt that the comedic value of the movie will offset my disappointment, maybe it's worth another look. Probably not.
Makes "Vice Academy" look like "Vice Squad"
movieman_kev30 October 2005
Lana Clarkson is Jan Cooper a recently promoted but freshly off the wagon drunk of a cop. She finds herself paired with two other vice girl cops to catch the people who murdered Jan's homeless friends. The acting is atrocious, the plot overly silly, and the 'action' insipid. This film makes "Vice Academy" look like "Vice Squad". Even the plentiful nudity can't save this sorry little film from the trash heaps of celluloid history. ONLY for overly enthusiastic fans of the late Lana Clarkson, everyone else just move along, there's nothing to see here. There I've just saved you your valuable time and money.
My Grade: F
My Grade: F
Nutty, low budg spoof - Pulp Fiction meets Charly's Angels!
sedgwick28 August 1999
Airing only a few times on cable, this funny little movie has a lot going for it. Never taking themselves AT ALL too seriously, the filmmakers are having a blast and it shows (director Richard Gabai plays wannabe filmmaker Quinten Tortalini and writer A. Michael Baldwin plays bogus snuff film producer Tralaine). The three lead actresses are so bad that they are actually good. The plot? Well, three vice cops (Liat Goodson is the only good looking one) chase and catch a killer. It's enough. Many good scenes. And am I wrong or is this movie based on Star Trek somehow? A wannabe (soon-to-be) classic.
watch it and have a laugh!
manten17 January 2000
surprisingly enjoyable pulp, with two female cops using designer-camera-bra's to catch a killer would-be porn-director with a hand-held camera. it even indulges in some pro-female pleasure scenes. it's more enjoyable than many a mainstream movie that takes itself too seriously.
Good movie
Jonniesykes9 February 2007
The film was great everyone should watch it the script was not that great but who ever produced this movie was an asset to the film because it made a lot of money for a very small investment. It was clear that the budget was not as great as it could have been but this movie took a good shot at making something from nothing. The acting was good in parts but you can't overlook the talent. The Director had a good vision of the project and stuck to it. I give this movie a B+. I meet the producers of this movie and they were really good at what they did creating an enjoyable set to be on.Three sexy cops hit the streets and go undercover -- and under the covers! -- to infiltrate a murder in the pornography industry. Can these lovely ladies avoid getting too wrapped up in the roles they play? Can they find the killer before he or she discovers that they're not the savvy sex stars they appear to be? From the actor/director who brought you ASSAULT OF THE PARTY NERDS and VIRGIN HIGH.
Cheap, ridiculous and entertaining
rosscinema2 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Easily one of those "it's so bad it's good" low budget straight to video and cable films that appears to have been filmed in a matter of a few days. Coinoisseurs of "B" films (in this case, "C") should definitely take a gander at this effort because of the cheap sets and because it's one of the last roles for an underused but strong and beautiful actress. Story is about a serial killer who has been killing teenage runaways and video taping the actual act of murder to make snuff films. Jan Cooper (Lana Clarkson) is a veteran cop with a bad attitude but she has an even more serious problem with her drinking and she likes to conduct her police work out of a bar called "Sweeties". She's assigned a new partner in Edith Block (Liat Goodson) and is also aided by Officer Mindy Turner (Kimberly Roberts) and the three of them go undercover to try and catch the killer.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Jan is more personally involved in this case than others because her younger sister Polly (Caroline Keenan) has left home because of her drinking and now Jan fears for her safety. They force porn shop owner Wolfgang (Peter Spellos aka Gordon Baer) and his nerdy assistant Quentin (Richard Gabai) to help them and the trail leads to porn king Tralaine (A. Michael Baldwin) but the aspiring filmmaker and killer turns out to be someone right under their noses!
This was cheaply made by Richard Gabai (I guess you can call it directing) who plays Quentin in the film and the extreme low budget is actually a reason to check this out. Exploitation king Jim Wynorski is one of the producers and I'm sure he lent a hand in cutting corners and sneaking around S.A.G. rules to get this film completed. As I watched this a few things came to mind like the budget was so small they didn't build another set for the police station which is why business is always conducted in the bar. Goodson is supposed to be a cop from San Francisco but her all too obvious English accent is never explained. Keenan is playing a character that is supposed to be 15 but in reality she's around 30! The script is written by A. Michael Baldwin (the Phantasm films) who plays Tralaine and he has Clarkson practically dragging a guy into the bathroom at the bar and handcuffing him before she performs oral. One of the highlights of the film comes when Goodson has to wear a "Bra-Cam" that has lenses in the nipples and when she does her little dance she has to point them at the suspect to get a clear picture on the monitor. The overall script appears to be an abundance of in-jokes with the names of some of the characters sounding suspicious like Quentin the wannabe filmmaker (as in Tarantino) and Tralaine who overacts like the character in the Star Trek episode. Let's face it though, one can't be curious about viewing one of Lana Clarkson's last roles before her untimely death and I do believe that she's well cast in this cheap little outing. Her physicality's carry her well because at 6 feet tall she has the appearance of a tough gal who can kick some ass and of course she looks absolutely gorgeous naked although here she's only topless twice. The lack of any kind of a budget hinders this film to the point that it's completely laughable made even worse by a script with comedic situations and juvenile dialog but I do think if your a fan of ultra-low budget junk you'll find some sort of entertainment value from the casting of the incredibly sexy girls to watching Clarkson who reminds everyone that she was indeed an actress of immeasurable presence.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Jan is more personally involved in this case than others because her younger sister Polly (Caroline Keenan) has left home because of her drinking and now Jan fears for her safety. They force porn shop owner Wolfgang (Peter Spellos aka Gordon Baer) and his nerdy assistant Quentin (Richard Gabai) to help them and the trail leads to porn king Tralaine (A. Michael Baldwin) but the aspiring filmmaker and killer turns out to be someone right under their noses!
This was cheaply made by Richard Gabai (I guess you can call it directing) who plays Quentin in the film and the extreme low budget is actually a reason to check this out. Exploitation king Jim Wynorski is one of the producers and I'm sure he lent a hand in cutting corners and sneaking around S.A.G. rules to get this film completed. As I watched this a few things came to mind like the budget was so small they didn't build another set for the police station which is why business is always conducted in the bar. Goodson is supposed to be a cop from San Francisco but her all too obvious English accent is never explained. Keenan is playing a character that is supposed to be 15 but in reality she's around 30! The script is written by A. Michael Baldwin (the Phantasm films) who plays Tralaine and he has Clarkson practically dragging a guy into the bathroom at the bar and handcuffing him before she performs oral. One of the highlights of the film comes when Goodson has to wear a "Bra-Cam" that has lenses in the nipples and when she does her little dance she has to point them at the suspect to get a clear picture on the monitor. The overall script appears to be an abundance of in-jokes with the names of some of the characters sounding suspicious like Quentin the wannabe filmmaker (as in Tarantino) and Tralaine who overacts like the character in the Star Trek episode. Let's face it though, one can't be curious about viewing one of Lana Clarkson's last roles before her untimely death and I do believe that she's well cast in this cheap little outing. Her physicality's carry her well because at 6 feet tall she has the appearance of a tough gal who can kick some ass and of course she looks absolutely gorgeous naked although here she's only topless twice. The lack of any kind of a budget hinders this film to the point that it's completely laughable made even worse by a script with comedic situations and juvenile dialog but I do think if your a fan of ultra-low budget junk you'll find some sort of entertainment value from the casting of the incredibly sexy girls to watching Clarkson who reminds everyone that she was indeed an actress of immeasurable presence.
I agree with Sedgwich
jerry-536 October 1999
I couldn't have said it better than the guy before me...But who's Tortelini? I didn't notice that character. Richard Gabai was both funny and compelling as Arnold Hilowotz aka Quentin, and A. Michael Baldwin had me on the floor with his nutty portrayal of Tralaine, the porn director. It's true, only Liat Goodson was a good, sexy a vice cop; but, the movie delivers on so many other levels, it just doesn't matter.
An OK film, with some surprisingly irony...
ipswichrockradio5 April 2024
Not the greatest film of this era but not the worse - it reminded me of a lower budget version of the 80's classic 'Road House' in looks and vibe - although the female characters are not as tough as Patrick Swayze and there is very little action after the initial fight scene. Lana shines as a tough cop who doesn't play by the rules, but her two companions aren't quite as interesting.
This is probably one of those films that was made quickly and cheaply, but had more thought and time been put into it then it would have been much better.
This film has some very ironic scenes for Lana Clarkson, considering what would happen to her in real life :-
There are a couple of scenes with Lana getting kinky in a nightclub toilet cubical - with her gun and handcuffs brought into play.
There is a scene where she busts a 'snuff picture' being filmed and is angry to find a woman has been shot in the head for cheap thrills (she turns out to be alive afterwards).
The most ironic scene is near the end - where Lana is kidnapped by the psychotic baddie - who wears a dated suit, has a mop of hair and looks very much like Phil Spector! He waves his gun in Lana's face as she is tied to a chair and she tells him how sick and twisted he is!
My feeling so sorry for poor Lana has possibly clouded my viewing experience of this film, but generally I'd say this is a mild yet entertaining B-movie 'action film' of its time - but with little action a bit lacking on thrills. I'd recommend it to fans of the late great Lana Clarkson only.
This is probably one of those films that was made quickly and cheaply, but had more thought and time been put into it then it would have been much better.
This film has some very ironic scenes for Lana Clarkson, considering what would happen to her in real life :-
There are a couple of scenes with Lana getting kinky in a nightclub toilet cubical - with her gun and handcuffs brought into play.
There is a scene where she busts a 'snuff picture' being filmed and is angry to find a woman has been shot in the head for cheap thrills (she turns out to be alive afterwards).
The most ironic scene is near the end - where Lana is kidnapped by the psychotic baddie - who wears a dated suit, has a mop of hair and looks very much like Phil Spector! He waves his gun in Lana's face as she is tied to a chair and she tells him how sick and twisted he is!
My feeling so sorry for poor Lana has possibly clouded my viewing experience of this film, but generally I'd say this is a mild yet entertaining B-movie 'action film' of its time - but with little action a bit lacking on thrills. I'd recommend it to fans of the late great Lana Clarkson only.
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