the robert downey jr film guide

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Tuff Turf (1985)

Supporting Role, Drama, Action!, Suffer Through, Career Trajectory: Unknown Actor, Shirtless, On DVD in Region 1, On DVD in Region 2, On DVD in Region 4, Rated R

Summary

The preppie new kid at a California high school becomes the target of thugs.

Director

Fritz Kiersch

Downey Factor

Low.

Character

Jimmy Parker, a drummer who quickly befriends the main character.

Looks

Pretty good. Not as bad as in his other movies of the same era.

Performance

Comic relief.

Love & Sex

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

Dies, Gay or Villain

No, no, no.

Cast

James Spader

Connection

James Spader in Less Than Zero and The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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 ‘80s. And I fit in real well.

Time & Place

Present day (1986), the Valley, near Los Angeles.

Gossip

Spader's love interest is played by Kim Richards, who is most famous for being a cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Availability

Released in theaters 11 Jan 1985. Now on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4.

Foreign Titles

Brazil: Turf Tuff, O Rebelde (Turf Tuff, The Rebel)
Finland: Katujen Kasvatit (Raised on the Streets)
France: Quartiers Chauds (Hot Neighborhoods)
Hungary: Városi Vagányok (Urban Ruffians)
Italy: Ultima Possibilità (The Last Possibility)
Slovenia: Upornik z Moje Sole (Rebel with My School)
Spain: A Toda Marcha (On Full Blast)
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 laidback and introspective and sensitive and zonked that it is occasionally all he can to do rouse himself to the level of speech.

Janet Maslin, The New York Times: After a while, the story’s schizophrenia becomes unmistakable. In one sequence, he actually brings Frankie and two other friends (including Robert Downey, who’s very appealing as Morgan’s only ally) to a country club, where they all modify their outfits and hairdos just enough to enable them to crash a dance.

2 Reasons to See It

1. Downey plays a shirtless drummer in an ‘80s band.
2. James Spader.

Overall

Cheesy. Really cheesy.

If You Liked It

You might also like Less Than Zero (1987), Weird Science (1985)

Photos

Video