Fugitive Girls/Review

Dee (Margie Lanier) is one of those poor souls who was a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She ends up taking the fall for her boyfriend who just committed both robbery and attempted murder at a liquor store. Dee gets left behind by her back-stabbing boyfriend and is off to serve her time behind bars. But (Due to budgetary problems) a maximum security prison this ain't! The corrections facility that Dee will be locked up in looks more like a summer camp for youths thanks to the surroundings of the California wilderness, wood cabins, and bunk beds! Nevertheless, there's some very tough inmates who reside in this curious jail. And since the theatrical trailer for Fugitive Girls has one of my favorite voiceovers, I'll introduce the rest of the "Fugitive Girls" that Dee meets in similiar fashion: Paula the Pimp Killer! (Played by Jabie Abercrombe), Sheila the Dope Smuggler! (Played by Donna Young), Toni the Bank Embezzler! (Played by Rene Bond, in a non-porn/soft-core appearance), Kat the Lesbian! Leader of the pack! (Played by Tallie Cochrane).

Once the group of girls recieves word about a hefty stash of money that Toni has kept safe nearby, plans for an immediate break-out go into effect. Dee appears reluctant to join in, but since Kat has made her part of her "Business", it looks like she's got no other choice than to participate in the jailbreak. Since the breakout was relatively easy (As one would expect) the fugitive girls are now on the loose and embark on their journey for the hidden cash.

Fugitive Girls is almost your basic, by-the-numbers jailbreak/WIP. But what it really has most going for it is it's cast. Though Margie Lanier (Who many would assume to be playing the film's main character) really doesn't have anything significant to do aside from either looking sexy (Which she can do quite well!) or looking depressed, she's upstaged by by both Rene Bond, playing a Southern belle, and Tallie Cochrane as the gang leader. Now I've always took notice of Talia's spunk and attitude that she's displayed in other sexploitation films, but boy, does she really let it all hang out here! Other splendid moments of the movie occur when the fugitive girls run into a hippie gang (Though not quite your oridinary hippie clique) and when the girls engage in an amusing rumble with a biker gang. The only drawbacks I had with the movie was the dreary scenery of the California hills. But maybe that's because I'm just not used to seeing an action-packed WIP flick set in rural conditions. The other setbacks were the tiresome trash-talking exchanges going on between Paula and Toni (Enough already!) and a more satisfying conclusion could have been attempted by Stephen Apostolof and Edward D. Wood Jr, himself (Who shines in two dual roles!) Other than that, Fugitive Girls gets it's job done as decent WIP entertainment...By the way, even though there isn't an obligatory shower scene as you would normally expect to see in a women-in-prison film, don't expect there to be a shortage of gratuitous nudity provided from these girls in the rest of the movie!

Reviewed by Laydback