This mid-80's James Spader vehicle starts off well enough, but its too long for its own good and becomes meandering after awhile. Not to say that this high-school rebellion/revenge movie isn't watchable, as it is, thanks, in no small part, to good acting, a great soundtrack and a perfectly suitable sense of style. It just sadly falls apart far before the end credits, complete with a song based on the title of the film, roll. Still perfectly good for a lazy rainy day afternoon. Also if you're simply looking to get a gander at the awesome Kim Richards topless, I have a little bit of bad news as its a body double.My Grade: C+

I rented this film because I'm a fan of Kim Richards, who starred in "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "Return to Witch Mountain."This movie reminded me so much of "West Side Story" because of the gang violence, all the dance numbers, and the events that parallel the story in "West Side Story." You can tell that whoever wrote the screenplay for "Tuff Turf" closely patterned it off of the sequence of events in "West Side Story" and "Romeo and Juliet." A guy meets a girl at a dance, she's part of a gang that doesn't like this guy, and despite being on opposite sides of the tracks, the guy and the girl fall for each other, and obstacles and bad things happen as a result. At the end of the movie, Kim Richards even channels Natalie Wood by picking up the gun and saying "How many bullets are left!? Enough for you!?"Anyway, if you're a fan of the '80s time period, this movie should be enjoyable. I really enjoyed this movie, it had a good love story, and there was a lot of suspense because you really didn't know whether this movie would have a happy ending or a tragic ending.I'm surprised Kim Richards never made anymore movies after this. She gave such a great performance, and she had the LONGEST hair, giving her such an edge to her hotness!

Or, at least that's what I'd like to think the reason was. Many a man who was a boy in the late-70's and/or early-80's would love to see Kim Richards returning to the silver screen, but after playing the female lead in this stinkeroo and some of her subsequent roles, it's hard to blame her for bowing out.The movie stars James Spader(the 1980's answer to David Hemmings) as Morgan Hiller, a kid from Connecticut who's moved to Los Angeles by his parents and immediately has to deal with the school thugs lead by Nick Hauser(Paul Mones)who wreck his bike for kicks. A REAL Los Angeles gang would've wiped these kids out with a single shot, to say nothing of the Jets & Sharks from "West Side Story." Those who saw a certain episode of "House of Buggin'" know what I'm talking about.Anyway, Morgan falls for the gang-leader's gun moll, Frankie Croyden, played by none other than Kim. Obviously, she thinks he's a wimp and a pushover and wants nothing to do with him, but this is the movies, and in movies men easily get the women they want. And in movies like this, the bad girl falls for the good boy, which she shouldn't, which p***es off her lover and leads to a huge gang war between the hero, and his new friends. And if that's not enough, the lucky bastard got to do a love scene with Kim. Sure it's fake, but it's the closest any of us will get.My vote: Barely rises above lame.

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.