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Review

Holly Woodlawn is truly memorable as the trash-collecting lover of impotent drug fiend Joe Dallesandro in this wonderfully realistic slice-of-life film about New York's druggies and counterculture denizens. In this, her screen debut, Holly's character preserves her dignity and moral righteousness despite poverty, squalor and a forced-to-masturbate-with-a-beer-bottle-because-my-boyfriend-can't-get-it-up life. This is best exemplified in the exchange between her and a "with it" social worker who promises her welfare in exchange for a pair of silver platform shoes Holly found in the trash. She refuses, despite an obvious need for assistance. It is her character, and not the cute but almost catatonic Joe, which works against the film's not-so-subtle anti-drug message; an attitude which keeps with the director's moralistic and reactionary philosophy.

 -- Raymond Murray