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Robert Downey Jr Comprehensive Film Guide
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Tuff Turf (1986)

Summary

New kid at Valley high school becomes the target of thugs.

Category/Genre

Action

Tag

Where enemies are made, reputations are earned and love is the most risky affair of all.

Direction

Fritz Kiersch

Downey Factor

Low.

Role

Jimmy Parker

Character

Not quite bad boy drummer and pal of James Spader's lead.

Looks

Pretty good. Not as bad as in his other movies at same time.

Performance

Comic relief.

Romance/Intimacy

Makes out with 80s chick in back seat of car.

Dies, Gay or Villain

No, no, no.

Other Actors

James Spader

Connection

James Spader in Less Than Zero

Location

The Valley, California, near Los Angeles

Hot Link

Tuff Turf
Trailer

RDJ Says

I was a teenager when I went to L.A. to do Tuff Turf. I was on the Universal lot. I went to Los Angeles and it was like all my dreams came true. With no repercussions. It was the Eighties. And I fit in real well.

Availability

I had some trouble finding it on video. Released on DVD in Regions 1 and 4.

Foreign Titles

Brazil: Turf Tuff, O Rebelde (Turf Tuff, The Rebel)
France: Quartiers Chauds (Hot Districts)
Italy: Ultima Possibilità (The Last Possibility)
Sweden: Rivalerna-Gatans Terror (Rivals: Terror of the Streets)

Rotten Tomatoes

20 % Fresh | 5 Reviews

Critical View

Rogert Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Tuff Turf is the worst teenage exploitation movie since Where the Boys Are. It even has an equally wimpy hero, a young actor named James Spader who seems so laid back and introspective and sensitive and zonked that it is occasionally all he can to do rouse himself to the level of speech.

2 Reasons to See It

1. Downey plays a shirtless drummer in an 80s band.
2. James Spader just plain rocks.

Overall

Cheesy ... really cheesy.

Photos