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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Fox Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 219581
Released: July 25, 2006 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Justine Bateman was a bigger star than Julia Roberts, but Satisfaction is the evidence of that brief moment. It's also a movie unjustly maligned, perhaps because it's a little more frank about the sexuality of young women than older male movie critics find comfortable. Jennie Lee (Bateman, Family Ties) and her band (Roberts, soon to become one of the biggest movies stars in the world; Trini Alvarado, Little Women; Britta Phillips, later to be the bassist for the rock band Luna; and Scott Coffey, the only actor to appear in both Ferris Bueller's Day Off and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive) go to a beach town where they get a gig playing in a club run by a former songwriter (Liam Neeson, Schindler's List). Over the course of a summer, they fall in love, have sex, and play rock and roll--but the tone and texture of the movie is more American Graffiti than Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Perhaps because Satisfaction was directed by a woman, the girls are startlingly well drawn and distinct, despite the movie's episodic nature. Surprisingly, the music has some grit to it, perhaps because it was produced by the legendary Steve Cropper (of Booker T. and the MGs). Even more surprising, Roberts doesn't pop out as a future star; watching Satisfaction, you could imagine that anyone in this strong ensemble--even Justine Bateman--could go on to great things (if anyone stands out, it's Britta Phillips, who then dropped out of movies altogether). Satisfaction is not profound, but it is more honest and nonjudgmental about the messiness of life, youth, and love than the overwhelming majority of teen movies. Debbie Harry has a brief but memorable cameo. --Bret Fetzer
Satisfaction/Say Anything Reviews:
satisfaction 
2009-06-15 - I have enjoyed this movie since it first came out. I'm from SC, near the Charleston beaches, and the fact that this was filmed on Isle of Palms just makes the whole movie even cooler. I went to the original Windjammer (where the band in the move played) before Hurricane Hugo took it out in 1989. They built a bigger and better Jammer, but the old one has never been forgotten. I got this movie for my dad's birthday. He just loves Julia Roberts.
Eighties Cheese At It's Finest! 
2009-04-27 - Have you ever seen a movie that was so bad that it makes it good? Well then, this is your movie. This movie was considered a joke back then, but now it has improved with age, big time! It is so bad that you can't turn it off.
You get a movie about an all girl cover band that seems really popular for their area. Imagine Julia Roberts with big 80s hair pretending to play bass! You get Justine Bateman as the singer, and of course she pretends to be a serious artist with lots of problems. But in the movie she is your typical rich, white girl who has no right to complain about anything.
Do yourself a favor and watch it.
A Delightful Blast from the Past
2009-04-11 - Seeing a couple of terrific actors at a very early stage of their career was a real treat. And I believe some reviewers do not take into account the outstanding singing performance of Justine Bateman--especially in the final, signature title song "Satisfaction." People trying to take this movie a bit too seriously should simply kick back and enjoy it for what it is.
Must Have Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time 
2009-03-18 - If you've always suspected that combining elements from "Times Square" (1980), "Josie and the Pussycats" (2001), and "Summer of `42" (1971) would be an extremely bad idea, look no further than "Satisfaction" for confirmation. Although "Times Square" fans (the film from which "Satisfaction" steals the most) will frequently cringe during the viewing experience, the fusion of these three films is not a totally bad idea.
It did give Trini Alvarado, eight years later, a chance to play the tough girl Nicky Marotta part, the character she played against in "Times Square". Although she plays her less like Robin Johnson did and more like Tara Reid's Cybil in "Girl" (1998). An underrated actress, Alvarado carries too much baggage (nice girl type-casting and too sweet a face) into this role to even begin to sell it. A much better idea that might have saved the film would have been for her and co-star Justin Bateman to switch parts. Bateman is capable of looking mean and is really too limited as an actress for a part with the degree of dimensionality of Jennie Lee.
I've never quite grasped the popularity of Julia Roberts but for her mega-fans "Satisfaction" is a must see. The script doesn't give her much to work with but it is an opportunity to see her when she was this young. Of course there is some retrospective perverse amusement to be had at the idea of Roberts and Liam Neeson playing second banana's to the talent challenged Bateman,
Britta Phillips' career rocketed forward from this film with 65 episodes as the voice of the title character in "Jem and the Holograms". Nice voice, excellent casting choice, and a cute performance; she and Chris Nash at least manage to give a fair amount of authenticity to the production.
Director Joan Freeman of Streetwalkin' (1985) fame has never done another feature; after these casting decisions it is not hard to figure out why. Maybe she is just another innocent victim of an Aaron Spelling production, she clearly was not a budding Allan Moyle. Likewise Screenwriter Charles Purpura; although his script is no worse than a lot of stuff currently getting feature treatment and the outdated slang no doubt sounded less lame in 1988.
Although full of terrible music (covers of classic rock tunes performed slightly worse than when arranged for your high school band's halftime show) the film did connect with its primary target audience, discontented teenage girls who were not so disillusioned that they could not still get off on an identification jag with a group of squeaky clean girl rockers. Those looking for a more real "growing up is painful " experience should stick with "Times Square" and the more recent "Pretty Persuasion".
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
VERY FAST SHIPPING BY SELLER!
2009-03-17 - I ordered the "Satisfaction" DVD for my granddaughters' Weekend with Grandma. It arrived very quickly...three days after I placed the order! The girls and I watched it three times and were imitating the band doing the title song on Sunday afternoon when my son and daughter-in-law arrived.
