Plot: What’s it about?
Michele (Leslie McRae) works as a waitress in a small town diner called Eat, but she has much larger aspirations, to be sure. You see, she wants to become a dancer and she has the moves, that much cannot be denied. As she struts her stuff in front of a jukebox one day, she is seen by Buz (Tom Pace), a handsome agent with some connections. He persuades her to leave behind her simple life to become a star, as a marquee dancer in Los Angeles. So Michele, Buz, and a singing hitchhiker named Critter (Jody Daniels) make their way to the buzzing metropolis of Los Angeles, where Michele hopes to reach the halls of stardom. She hires on as a dancer at the Go-Go Revue, where the competition is tough, but she more than holds her own. With her gold boots tight on her feet, she dances her way right into the hearts of the clients, quickly becoming a top attraction. But when she is torn between Buz and Critter, she has to make some hard decisions, some of which could change her life forever…
This is one bad movie, no two ways about it. It has even been given the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment, which is a sort of badge of badness, so to speak. But as is sometimes the case, these bad movies can be loads of fun to watch, so long as you have the right mindset to appreciate the flaws. I like Girl in Gold Boots and while it isn’t even a decent movie in normal terms, it has some charms and the mistakes are so obvious, you can’t help but chuckle. A sort of precursor to Showgirls, this movie shows us the darker side of fame & fortune, with some unexpected (yeah right) twists & turns along the path. The story is paper thin and tries to go in too many directions, while the moral moments will have you laughing, as opposed to thinking. The editing here is perhaps the poorest work of all time, with frequent serious mishaps, including an infamous one with Buz at the diner. But I do love the dance scenes and the very unusual dune buggy sequence, as well as the “revelations” made toward the film’s close. I recommend this disc to fans of Ted V. Mikels, as well as anyone who can appreciate truly bad cinema.
Although director Ted V. Mikels has been fairly active for about forty years, most of his well known work came within a four year stretch. Girl in Gold Boots is the movie that kicks off his string of cult hits, although this one isn’t as beloved as the others he made in that time. I am clueless as to why Mikels released Girl in Gold Boots in this form, with rampant mistakes that loom large, even more than in his other pictures. I mean, when Buz just sort of teleports into the “Eat” diner, how in the world could anyone miss that error? In any event, Mikels kicked off a run of cool, but bad movies with Girl in Gold Boots, so it deserves some press on that front. Other films directed by Mikels include The Doll Squad, Astro-Zombies, 10 Violent Women, Blood Orgy of the She-Devils, and The Corpse Grinders. The cast includes Leslie McRae (Death Race 2000, Coffy), Tom Pace (Blood Orgy of the She-Devils), and Jody Daniels (Operation Bikini, Hell’s Chosen Few).
Video: How does it look?
Girl in Gold Boots is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This one looks good on most counts, but the source print is on its last legs, which forces me to lower the score. I expected some wear signs, but this print is covered with scratches & nicks at times, with few clean spots to mention. In truth, I didn’t think it impacted visuals too much, as this is the kind of movie that seems to demand print damage, but even so, I wish it were cleaner at times. The color & contrast are passable most of the time, with only a few darker scenes lacking the needed refinement. As I mentioned, this is one of those movies that will never have a restoration and as such, I’d say this is about as good as it gets for this flick on DVD.
Audio: How does it sound?
I’ll make this section short & sweet, since there isn’t that much to discuss, in all honesty. The track sounds cleaner than I expected, but some minor age related flaws do surface, though nothing too serious. The hilarious music comes through loud & clear, while sound effects aren’t too dynamic, but sound as good as possible in this case. No errors with dialogue either, aside from some production faults, such as muffled vocals here & there. In the end, this is a better audio presentation than expected, so fans should be pleased.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The main extra here is an audio commentary with director Ted V. Mikels, who isn’t quite as talkative as usual. I’ve enjoyed his other sessions and expected much of the same, but he seems to just be watching some of the time, which means frequent silence. Even so, he does offer some nice tidbits and in any event, it is a pleasure to hear Mikels’ thoughts on Girl in Gold Boots. This disc also contains a talent files on Mikels, a selection of lobby cards, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
