Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
SeeQuant
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Chase_Witherspoon
The thriller that brought Wings Hauser to the attention of film-makers and audiences as the manipulative, sadistic, and psychopathic pimp preying on his meal tickets with callous ambivalence. Season Hubley is the call-girl who has Hauser arrested, Swanson the detective, but before they can indict him, he's on the loose like a wild animal, out for revenge.Hauser's intense portrayal of the urban cowboy with a seriously mean streak is probably his best role to date; edgy and offbeat, exuding charm and an omnipotence that masks a violent alter ego and hair-trigger temper - the scene in which he uses electrocution to enforce his authority is quite shocking (no pun intended).Often dismissed as a sleaze-a-thon, and rarely referred any credit, "Vice Squad" was one of a number of films in the early eighties that dealt with the fringe sex industry and the shadowy figures that make it a dangerous profession. The cast is full of familiar faces with Beverly Todd as Hubley's ill-fated friend and confidante, Rainbeaux Smith (in one of her last roles) as a working girl, Stack Pierce, Jonathan Haze and Grand L.Bush in minor roles.Not an emulation of the DePalma stylings (e.g. "Body Double"), it's volatile and gritty in atmosphere, more a match with "Cruising" or the subsequent slasher movies "New York Ripper" and "Fear City" in its downcast, brutal tone, director Sherman has got lucky with Hauser achieving such a memorable characterisation, surely among the most notorious of screen villains in the annals of film history.
revsolly
a man-child to be exact, I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was SO COOL. However, I have since grown up. And since I have, I now realize just how big a pile of dung this movie really is. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this thing.First off, the acting was not exactly Oscar worthy - more like a cast-load of Razzie-worthy performances. None of the principle actors went on to do anything that came even close to noteworthy.Wings Hauser, the bad guy of the piece, had only one role that was any good, that of a racist WWII Army Lt. in A Soldier's Story. From then he went on to eventually play a drunken former military person, who lives in a trailer and cares for his niece, on an episode of JAG. Now, I was a big fan of JAG, but that is hardly indicative of a stellar career.Season Hubley's only claim to fame was about a 3-minute part as a scared women in Escape From New York. She was killed before we even got a good look at her face - and her husband was the star of the movie.Then we have Re-Run as a sugar pimp and the unforgettable Nina Blackwood as a prostitute who was ravaged to death by Hauser's character. Other than her stint as an MTV VJ, can anyone tell me what else Nina did of note? Yeah! I couldn't either.The rest of the cast list is peppered with names whose careers ended just a couple of years after this movie. Many have never been heard from again.It is amazing how one's taste in movies can grow and refine as one gets older. I wish this was not such a stark and vivid reminder.
TOMASBBloodhound
Vice Squad seemed to have all the right ingredients for being a truly memorable thriller. Something seems to have gone wrong, however, and the film never really takes off like you expect it to. The story centers around the Hollywood Vice Squad attempting to arrest a dangerous pimp by using a classy working girl as bait to lure him into confessing about another prostitute's murder. The film has plenty of interesting characters, but it doesn't always develop them as much as you'd hope. The film also misfires in the sense that it makes the cops the focus of the story. Either the pimp or the main hooker should have gotten top billing.The fact is it's the lead detective who gets top billing. The actor who plays him hardly has any screen presence. The thing you'll remember most about him is his maroon Members Only jacket! Season Hubley is very good as "Princess". She's a high end call girl who is forced to help the Vice Squad nail a nasty redneck pimp known as "Ramrod". Ha ha!!! Wings Houser gives a nice performance as the dangerous hustler who dresses like an urban cowboy and drives a huge Ford Bronco around Hollywood. For a character as interesting as this, they should have given him much more screen time! The scenes he has are by far the most memorable. Most of the film deals with Ramrod tracking Princess down after he escapes from police custody after she sets him up.SPOILERS AHEAD:The film has its strengths. The sleazy side of Hollywood Blvd is wonderfully filmed by legendary cinematographer John Alcott. The acting is generally passable if not very good. The film knows its an exploitation pic, and it never gets pretentious or overbearing. There are more than a few problems with this film, though. First of all, the film meanders a bit too much. It almost looks like a project where they all went out and started filming before the script was even finished. Some scenes, like one in a mansion, are well done yet they almost don't seem to belong in the final cut. Some scenes just don't play realistically. Take the scene of Ginger's death. Notice how everyone is standing around her, and nobody even tries to revive her when she flat lines! Hello! They're in a hospital! There are doctors all around! Wouldn't they at least try to save her?? The conclusion is poorly constructed, as well. There is an army of cops waiting to storm a warehouse where Ramrod is torturing Princess. They seem to take forever to get into position, and all this does is give the man more time to torment her. The whole scene just rings false. Also, the resolution would have been much more satisfying if Princess had been the one to finally kill Ramrod off. The cop just isn't an interesting enough character to take that honor.Go ahead and try this film if you stumble across a copy. Don't be surprised if you think you could have written a better script, though. 5 of 10 stars. Oh, and props to Wings Hauser for singing the neat song during both the beginning and ending credits!The Hound.
preppy-3
...doesn't mean it's a GOOD film however.Hooker Princess (Season Hubley) is turning tricks to get money to be with her baby girl. Vice squad policeman Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson) talks her into trapping sadistic pimp Ramrod (hoo boy!) played by Wings Hauser. It works...but Ramrod escapes and is out to get Princess...Alternately dull and sleazy with some truly terrible dialogue. The plot is just silly--Swanson falls in love with Hubley (sigh) and offers to PAY her to stay off the streets!!!! All the prostitutes look like models and all sit around and tell amusing stories of their tricks (????). Makes prostitution look like fun. Also would the entire vice squad REALLY drop everything to search for Princess and Ramrod like they do here? I don't think so. SPOILER!!!! It gets REAL sick at the end when Hauser finally corners her...too sick. I do like how she fights back though--I was tempted to cheer her along. END SPOILER!!!!The film is terrible but it does have an audience. There are a few reasons--Hubley is VERY good in her role; Hauser is just terrific--and frightening as Ramrod and you gotta admire how incredibly sleazy an R rated film can get. Still it's really not that good and Swanson is dreadful as the cop. Also look for ex MTV DJ Nina Blackwood as a hooker. I give this a 6.
