I feel like the little kid in the Hans Christian Anderson story who is the only one that can see the emperor isn't wearing any cloths. This movie is terrible! I suspect the people who claim to love it so much think it somehow makes them cool to say so. It does'nt. I wonder also about all those who wrote about how they cleaned up the real Times Square. They think it was better in 1980 than it is now? Really? How much time did you spend there in 1980?? If you crave danger so much go to East New York or Bed Sty or Washington Hts. etc. etc. You are as full of crap as this dreadful movie. It's badly acted, badly directed, badly edited and it is unrealistic and makes no sense. If it were one hundred times better it would still suck.

I grew up in the Detroit area - there was an underground punk scene in the city, but I didn't know much more about punk until I saw this movie.My name is Pam, and my best friend and I called each other Nicky and Pammy for months after seeing this movie. Great teen rebellion flick, great gritty scenes of NYC. The concert at the end is awesome - Damn Dog was my favorite song. Loved Trini Alvarado. Surprised she didn't do a lot more acting.I wish I still had the album; it is even better than the movie. I'm looking in used record stores for it, and hopefully will find it.

I just saw Times Square, on DVD recently. What a blast! It's a film centered around teen rebellion, in NYC during the end of the 70s. In that era, New York's Time Square, where the film took place, was seedy and run-down. And yet it also swirled with a crackling, decadent energy.Two young teens are the main protagonists in the movie. There's Pammy Pearl, who's an insecure, affluent adolescent. Her dad, is a smarmy politician. He promises to 'sanitize' Times Square, to help further his own political ambitions. Pammy's father is oblivious, to his daughter's typical teenage emotional tribulations. So, he has her placed in a local hospital, for neurological tests.Once there, Pammy meets Nikki (brilliantly played by Robin Johnson). Nikki is a wild, orphaned teen, who has had run-ins with the law. She's considered incorrigibly rebellious, by her social worker. And she's also placed in the hospital for a neurological evaluation, by her misguided social worker. Pammy and Nikki, end-up sharing the same room at the hospital. At first, Pammy seems alarmed by Nikki, and her wacky habits (she casually eats flower petals, while Pammy looks on in bewilderment). But Pammy is secretly fascinated by Nikki, even writing poetry about Nikki in her diary. Nikki peeks at Pammy's diary one day, when Pammy's asleep. Nikki's impressed that Pammy expresses admiration for her, in her poetry.One day Nikki decides to run away from the hospital. She urges Pammy to join her. The two flee in an ambulance that they stole from the hospital parking lot, with Nikki driving recklessly through the streets of NY. Taking up residence in an abandoned warehouse, Nikki and Pammy learn to survive on their own. And they develop a friendship so intense, that it has romantic overtones.Meanwhile, Pammy's father is engaged in a frantic search for his daughter. He thinks that Pammy's been kidnapped by Nikki. Pammy keeps in contact with her father through cryptic poems, that she supplies to an all-night radio DJ in Times Square. Pammy has listened to this DJ on the radio regularly. Pammy considers his show to be a sort of catharsis, for her teenage angst. The DJ (played by the eclectic Tim Curry) thinks that Pammy is a deeply talented poet. He encourages Pammy to continue communicating with him through her poetry. He's also supportive of Pammy and Nikki's quest to be free, and live life to the fullest.Pammy and Nikki soon realize that they have to have a steady income, in order to live on their own. So, Nikki suggests that Pammy audition at a sleazy nightclub as a topless dancer, because she thinks that Pammy is 'the pretty one', in their dynamic duo. Though she's basically a shy gal, Pammy decides to go for it, and gets offered the job. All the while, Nikki is developing her skills as a rock guitarist and singer. Nikki starts to get regular gigs, playing with local punk bands. For a while, Pammy and Nikki keep a step ahead of Pammy's father, and the law, in their pursuit of a free existence. Nikki and Pammy's friendship also evolves, as Nikki reveals how vulnerable she really is, under her tough exterior. Pammy realizes that Nikki really needs her. And she remains loyal to Nikki throughout the film. Even when they have a serious rift in their relationship, due to the meddling all-night DJ.Above all, Times Square is a film about the importance of peer friendship, during adolescence. It's a stage of life fraught with ups-and downs, on the road to maturity. This film shows that teen rebellion is all a part of growing-up, no matter how misunderstood it is by parents. The performances of the two main characters, are what drive the film. Especially Robin Johnson's portrayal of Nikki. Robin infuses the character of Nikki, with a roguish, delinquent charm. And Trini Alvarez as Pammy, projects her own understated charisma.The soundtrack is also superb. It features many prominent punk bands of that era, including Patti Smith, Roxy Music, The Talking Heads, etc. The music really keeps the film juiced with an electric, anarchic energy.Times Square is truly a classic cult film. I'd consider it a must-see. Especially for those who are fond of the urban Punk music, and fashions, of the late-70s era.

Everyone seems to LOVE this BOMB movie!I was going to school in NYC when the movie opened. The poster looked cool....then I saw it on HBO in 1983, or thereabouts. It was *NOT* a punk movie at all. Parts made no sense at all. All I remember was Tim Curry telling teenagers (on the air) "They treat you like criminals so wear masks; they treat you like garbage--so wear garbage bags" (or something like that). Then all these teenagers emerge in the "big scene" at the end wearing "bandit" masks and black Hefty bags, and I was like "What the F--k is going on?". A real "wrong time/wrong place" movie, that MAY have been altered a little bit, a few years later, into a Molly Ringwald "Brat Pack" vehicle. Maybe. The double LP soundtrack was a cut-out bin STAPLE till the mid-1980's. Stigwood & co. should have learned their piggish little lesson with the Bee Gees "Sgt. Pepper" movie. There are better "new wave" girly movies than this ("Starstruck" , "Breaking Glass" perhaps?). Overall, this movie was a corporate plan to sanitize punk rock for Mall Girl Consumption by the greedy Grease people! Nothing more. But hey, I'm a 40 year old guy (now), so maybe if I was a 15 year old budding lesbian in 1980, this would have been my "Citizen Kane"?