Tuff Turf
Tuff Turf
R | 11 January 1985 (USA)
Tuff Turf Trailers

The new guy in a Los Angeles high school, Morgan, does some singing and fights hotshot Nick over disco dancer Frankie.

Reviews
Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
bignothingdrake310 This movie is boring as hell! The editing is garish and obnoxious, there is not nearly enough action it's mostly just padding, full of pointless scenes and poorly written dialogue scenes that just go nowhere and do absolutely nothing to further the plot. The love story between Frankie and Morgan would be more engaging if these characters weren't so dull and lifeless, and don't even get me started on this "gang" This gang has to be the most pathetic excuse for a street gang that I have ever seen! I mean all they seem to do for a majority of this movie is talk tough and intimidate Morgan yet rarely ever follow through with anything, for at least two thirds of the film! In fact you barley even see anything of them for two thirds of the movie. This was so obviously just intended to be a cynical cash grab and it backfired! There's a reason people seldom remember this stinker because there is nothing even relatively notable about it! It only brought in 9,369,329 that's nothing! Even by 1985's standards that's nothing! It's not hard to see why either, there is nothing of value here! I can guarantee you by the end of this movie it is going to vanish from your consciousnesses entirely and for good reason. There is nothing memorable here at all! I mean I swear I have just sat through an hour and fifty minutes of just pure tedium, pure an utter monotony from start to finish, and you know what else? All of that monotony might have been forgivable if it was just building up to a satisfying climactic battle, but even that ending scene in the warehouse was just dull and bland, totally boring! There is nothing here! It is one of the blandest most sterile films that I have seen in a long time! there was just You want a real high school gang flick, watch Jack Hill's "Switchblade Sisters" it's streaming on Netflix last time I checked, just watch that and spare yourself the disappointment. Or if you plan to watch this just do yourself a favor and lower your expectations. It's sad too, because that opening scene really did make this film look promising, I thought "hey this should be good campy fun!" But nope! And these fight scenes! My god they are so poorly choreographed and half-baked and not even halfway decent! I mean were they even trying to make a good movie? No of course not, as I said it's a cynical cash grab. That sex scene also, wow! That was lame, if a film manages to make sex look boring, then you know something is wrong. This is just a lame movie, that wasted a potentially entertaining premise. I came here looking for a good entertaining schlock-fest not to be put to sleep! It is amazing that James Spader's career wasn't ruined by this film, it is nothing short of a miracle, and don't even get me started on his performance it's like he was drunk through the entire thing and just didn't even care but can you really blame him. God knows that I can't. This movie sucks, period. Enough said.
officespace000 This movie is a must-see for fans of 80's movies. It's not as well known as some of the other movies that Robert Downey Jr and James Spader are in, but it's a solid movie that's worth watching. Robert Downey Jr steals the movie in every scene he is in and provides much needed comic relief.The action is enjoyable and James Spader does an excellent job as the former rich kid, trying to make it in a new school. Another reason for watching is a rare performance by the Jim Carroll Band about halfway through the movie.It's a satisfying high school / action movie that delivers!
preppy-3 Morgan Hiller (James Spader) is a new kid in high school. He makes enemies with the local gang...but the gang leader's girlfriend (Kim Richards) falls for him.The plot is very predictable but this still is lots of fun to watch. I saw it in a theatre back on a freezing cold winters night in 1985. I was in college and just expected a stupid teen flick (that's what I was in the mood for). I was surprised to find myself really liking it. In terms of fashions, music and attitude it was great! It caught the 1980s head on. These kids talked and acted like high school kids (even though all of them were well over that age). It moved quickly, was well-directed and is full of energy. Most of the acting is very good especially by Richards and a then unknown Robert Downey Jr. Spader was a little bit too mannered for the role but he was OK.This is no unsung masterpiece but I think it's a good strong 80s flick. I give it an 8.
Joseph P. Ulibas Tuff Turf brings back memories of watching movies on Select TV. This 80's cult hit is about a young rapscallion who's life is turned upside down when his upper class father hits financial trouble forcing his family to move out to the 'hood. James Spader slowly learns how to deal with street life whilst his family adjusts to dealing with people that are of "lower social class". Interesting film staring James Spader as the young punk rich kid, Matt Clark as his shell shocked father, Robert Downey Jr. as his high school buddy and Kim Richards (Escape To Witch Mountain) as his soon to be girlfriend. The only part of the movie that gave me the willies was when his older (more culturally refined) brother pays a visit, there's an oedipal conflict between the two (the scene where the older brother embraces his mom far too long and hugs her too close for comfort)that would have given Freud a thrill to try and psycho-analyzed. Recommended for 80's fans.