Times Square
With Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado, Tim Curry.
US, 1981, DCP, color, 111 min.
DCP source: Universal
Allan Moyle’s Times Square stars Trini Alvarado as Pammy, the quiet and sheltered daughter of a prominent politician, and Robin Johnson as Nicky, a charismatic streetwise troublemaker. In the film’s unrealistic but somehow believable urban fantasy, the girls team up, creating a home for themselves in a warehouse on the West Side piers, and pursue various wild antics together against the gritty urban backdrop of Times Square, with Tim Curry’s radio deejay Johnny LaGuardia presiding over the entire adventure. The original script had numerous scenes and plot elements that developed a sense of proto-lesbian romance; these were all significantly cut. Despite the excision of explicit lesbian content, Nicky and Pammy are decidedly not interested in boys, and the romantic tone and tension in their interactions is undeniable. Their anarchic chemistry is also underscored by one of the greatest rock and roll soundtracks of all time, featuring Patti Smith, the Pretenders, Talking Heads, the Ramones, Roxy Music and Suzi Quatro.