Critic Reviews

The music is sensational, the energy level high, and Down and Out With the Dolls is a wise and funny treat.

The movie belongs to the women, and they perform with attitude and power.

One thing that separates undie from indie is bad acting. Bring it on! There are some stinky performances here, and stinky moments in the script. Great! If it don't stink it ain't punk rock. I'd rather dig the tunes and remember deadpan deliveries.

Like a good punk tune, the filmmaker's focused energy distracts from compositional flaws, all the better to enjoy visceral pleasures such as a spot-on Zoë Pouledouris as preening singer Fauna.

Unaffectedly hip and affably manic, Down & Out With the Dolls picks up where "Singles" left off.

The trouble with authenticity in a punk rock film is that it comes off as amateurish, and while "Dolls" has a feverish energy -- and some good songs -- it suffers from crude performances and a trite rise-and-fall plot.

The performances are rough and sometimes amateurish, but that works in the film's favor more often than it doesn't -- there's none of the false slickness that comes with hot young actors playing rock 'n' rollers.

The results suggest a slightly more ribald version of "Josie and the Pussycats."

A great idea that never gets off the ground.

A lot of the acting is amateurish, and most of the plot feels like a rehash of a rehash. The music, written and performed in the spirit of L7, is small consolation.