Slaves to the Underground Reviews

A grungy romance set against the backdrop of Seattle's coffeehouses, clubs and crash pads, this indie feature fails to rise above the Gen-X cliches it purports to despise. Wan guitarist Shelly (Molly Gross) seems determined to make a world-class mess of both her private and her professional lives. In a hot band and a hot romance with dynamic lead singer Suzy (Marisa Ryan), a radical feminist whose mantra appears to be "name names and take hostages," Shelly catches sight of old flame Jimmy (Jason Bortz) at a gig and all hell busts loose. Suzy beats up Jimmy's pal Dale (Peter Szumlas) because Shelly says he's a rapist. Shelly rekindles her romance with Jimmy, so Suzy kicks her out of the band and the house. And Jimmy gets thrown out of his place by roommate Brian (James Garver), who's siding with Dale. In between soul-searching about relationships, music and -- of course -- selling out, various characters face the camera and ramble about everything from THE GRADUATE (a stalking movie about a "selfish, irresponsible proto-slacker") to TV news and the zine scene. Sincere kudos to Kristine Peterson, who got her foot in the directing door with pictures like BODY CHEMISTRY, on one front: Exploitation directors are always talking about wanting to make more personal films, but few actually do. Unfortunately, this low-budget SINGLES doesn't exactly blow the Hollywood version out of the water with its complex character development and incisive observations about the young and the restless. Shelly is the black hole at the movie's heart: She's a fickle wimp, and it's hard to figure out -- or care -- why she does any of the stupid, hurtful things she does. Ryan, by contrast, makes up for her hugely annoying performance in LOVE ALWAYS: Her Suzy is Courtney Love by way of Gwen Stefani, a raunchy, politicized spitfire who dominates her every scene. If only the movie were about her.