Ladies and Gentleman, etc. is a rock and roll movie that coincided with the advent of mtv and a downward spiral of music videos making stars of lackluster musicians, sometimes overnight. Diane Lane is the lead as Corinne, a lost teenager seeking fame and fortune with her cousin and sister in a band with very little talent.Real life artists such as Fee Waybill of the Tubes and also members of the Clash and the Sex Pistols are used to give the film some authenticity. Corinne(Lane) leaves home after the untimely death of her mother to hit the road on a bus with the aforementioned punk rockers. The driver of the bus is a philosophical Jamaican Bob Marley type constantly spouting "ja rastafari." Corinne unveils a black and white "skunk" hairstyle, booty shorts, and see through blouse, inspiring adolescent female followers to copy her fashion statement. Along the way, romance and career conflict ensue, but the show must go on and it does. Some of the music is good due to punkers Steve Jones and Fee Waybill and Diane Lane is thoroughly convincing as the troubled young rebel; she makes Ladies and worthwhile.

Like many reviewers on this film I first saw "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains" on late night cable in the mid 80's. I loved the music as I was just digging Punk and getting into New Wave. The more adult themes went over my head but I got the gist - the conflict between men and women in the music business and how media can build up and tear down stars.I had wanted to see the film again but until 2008 it was still only available if it were shown on TV or if someone had a copy from a previous TV showing. The studio finally released a DVD of a restored print and I fell in love with it all over again.Diane Lane, 15 at the time, plays the leader of The Stains, "Third Degree" Burns. Laura Dern, 13 at the time, plays Third Degree's cousin and bassist "Peg". The British punk band The Stains hang out on tour with is made up of members of the Sex Pistols and The Clash and fronted by Ray Winstone. Fee Waybill of The Tubes plays a hasbeen metal band singer. Christine Lahti, who plays Lane's Aunt and Dern's mother, kills in the two short scenes she's in. Other notable cast members are David Clennon, Cynthia Sikes, Elizabeth Daily, and an uncredited Brent Spiner. The film was directed by Lou Adler who had directed "Up in Smoke" and was written by Nancy Dowd who had written "Slap Shot".Diane Lane shows once again her raw untrained talent in only her 3rd film at the time. Laura Dern also looks natural in her role. Along with Lahti, Waybill also turns in a great performance.The film does a good job of showing one part of the rough and tumble music business before the MTV era. It's rough around the edges with some cringe worthy scenes and stiff dialog but overall it makes its gritty point about the nature of show business and the media and about gender roles. The happy ending that was filmed 2 years after initial filming fits in that it reminded me of the rise of the group "The Go-Go's" They had started in the punk scene and moved into the new MTV scene and got the same make over "The Stains" get in the final scene.The film has reached cult status not only from the late night cable showings and lack of a previous home release but also because it influenced future women singers most notably Courtney Love.As noted before the film is jagged but Lou Adler made sure the music was as polished as possible to be heard. That of course is what is important - the music and the message.*Side Note* If you are an "Old Fart" now and want to reminisce about the film and the time of the story, listen to the commentary by Diane Lane and Laura Dern on the DVD. They were a bonus and added to the value of the disc.

I had a vague-ish memory of having watched this in my bedroom late at night when I was a middle-schooler and I always wondered why it hadn't been released, since I remember loving it. Now I see from other posts that it was likely on Night Flight which totally explains it (man, I miss Night Flight). I remember getting totally wrapped up in the story of the three girls and being taken by the authentic grittiness of a no-frills road tour (not to mention the "F*** the system" attitude of the girls). Another poster mentioned the "added on ending" that was shot three years after the fact, which explains how, when I saw it way back when, I recognized Laura Dern and was confused over why I hadn't known it was her through the rest of the movie. I just saw the DVD this weekend and even though it really hasn't aged well, it's still a great flick, if only as a good marker for the genre and a nice showcase for some great acting.

My DVD player crapped out on me and I was going through my old VHS pile and watched this again. Like most, I had taped my copy off of Nightflight in about 1985. I was a devoted fan of that show; as a sophomore in College at Montana State U, it certainly helped develop my taste in music and I was extremely vexed when USA replaced it with idiot Gilbert Gottfried and those dumb cut up teen sex comedies (Up All Night). I wonder whatever happened to the voice over woman from Night Flight and Radio 1990? She was attractive and had more than a "voice for radio". Or whatever happened to the other Radio 1990 alum Lisa Robinson?My recollections on the movie1. First off, how great is it that back in the mid 80s USA could run a movie without obsessing over bleeping out shits and fucks etc and tolerating glimpses of underage flesh 2. The commercials from cable in the 80s are hilarious to watch today (Videos on break dancing!) 3. How about the young Ray Winstone as the Looters/Johnny Rotten doppelganger (the beefy guy from Sexy Beast in his pallid youth) 4. Fee Waybill was awesome. I couldn't tell if it was cinema verite' or self parody in his performance 5. The whole "I Don't Put Out" empowerment is sure a far cry from Britney, Christina and the rest of the current pop trollops infesting the airwaves and TV twenty(!) years later 5. Loved Lawnboy and the whole way reggae and punk intertwined as music made by those on the margins. "Everybody want to go to heaven, but nobody want to die"; from Peter Tosh lyrics 6. I loved the added ending "Emp-TV" video for Join the Professionals. Awesome. They didn't release that as a 45 single did they? 7. Diane Lane was perfect for the part but Laura Dern didn't really impress considering how her acting career developed a few years later 8. Christine Lahti was also good in her limited time on screen 9. With all the crap in the DVD racks, why can't this little gem get re-released? Didn't Lou Adler make a fortune on those $80 Complete Monterey Music Festival DVD box sets? 10. Any hope of any TV DVD box sets of Night Flight? Or is that more of a pipe dream