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So much average

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This noir film is great on atmosphere, light on plot, and the story, such as it is, is difficult to follow because the characters are not well labeled or are simply not identified at all. The pitch black lighting photography certainly does not help. Even worse, the story details on the DVD cover seem to be deliberately misleading. Nonetheless, Uma Therman gives the admittedly moody but confusing scenario, a good run.There is decidedly too much film noir photography. At least eighty per cent t of the film is photographed in either complete or semi-darkness and It is hard to identify what is happening plot-wise, let alone who is who. Even worse still, essential plot details are not supplied at all and elements of the story are left unexplained even at its conclusion.Mind you, there's a great moody atmosphere throughout. In fact, that's just the problem. Too much of the movie is in the dark, both literally and figuratively.The movie has plenty of atmosphere but no coherence. The plot, if there is a plot, either doesn't make sense or doesn't exist at all. Or maybe it has simply been edited out of the murky Legacy DVD, on which the running time is quoted as "approximately 89 minutes."

There are allot of negative posts for this film. Luckily I did not read any before seeing it. Having picked up 'Kiss Daddy' on hap-hazard whim at a movie stop, I was pleasantly surprised for several reasons.First; The characters are well thought out, and the actors do a good job making their performances honest. Secondly; Most of the film takes place at night, I liked this, because it showcases some very nice/colorful lighting. Although not all the film is well lit, I found this to give more of a realistic feel. The sore/audio also has a very gritty sense, but it works.Although the picture transfer itself is poor (early-80s TV network) this too seems to fits. Giving one the feeling of actually being in a big, dirty, down-town area.Thirdly, and most importantly are the narrative, directing, and compositional aspects of this film. The story is dark yet intriguing, seemingly simple at first. But as the characters develop and the plot unravels it becomes apparent that someone put allot of thought into developing this story and its layout.Perhaps the strongest point of this film is it's directing. Not only is it surprisingly competent film making for such a low-budget 80s flick, but there are some incredibly strong compositional elements. The editing is so tight and well paced that I found myself literally on the edge of the couch, just waiting to see what technique would be employed next. 'Kiss Daddy Goodnight' is without a doubt a low-budget, independent 80s film. But it is also a hart-felt work of love by those who made and acted in it. Reguardless of the bad packaging, low-budget, and bad transfer, one leaves with a feeling similar to that of hearing Eric Clapton belt out a beautiful tune on a Wall Mart guitar.

There must be more than one version of this movie available. Amazon appears to have it for around $15, with a running time of 90 minutes. The version I picked up at a large discount store cost only One American Dollar and has a running time of 75 minutes. I suppose they cut the frontal nudity of Buscemi! Anyway, for one dollar I figured it would be worth it, to have a copy of Uma Thurman's first starring role, as a 17-year-old girl. Truthfully, I was expecting the movie to be really bad. The story is moderately interesting and it is clear that young Uma had what it took to become a successful actress. The really bad things are (1) Paul Dillon's acting, as her friend Sid. (2) The cinematography, especially the night shots, is really bad. (3) The background music is irritating. (4) The soundtrack is substandard. Still, it is well worth the one dollar it costs.SPOILERS: Laura (Thurman) survives by hustling dates with older men, letting them take her back to their place, drugging their drinks, then stealing money and valuables. Sid (Dillon) shows up to look for old friends and try to re-form a band. His only real reason to be in the story is to help save Laura during the ending. Laura's neighbor William is an older man who had a daughter much like Laura, is secretly in love with Laura, follows her at night by hired taxi, eventually kills Laura's mom, and when all this is exposed in the end Laura is trapped and forced to stab him with the dagger she had stolen during one of her schemes. Not all ends badly, as laura and Sid embrace and appear to be headed towards blissful love.Buscemi has a small role as a former band member, but now married with children and not interested in joining up again.

I watched this on my betamax last night again. The opening credits and music is fuzzy and lo-rez, wholly impressionistic. I am not one for expensive special effects, nor demanding of a well-crafted story or skillful acting. This movie just gives me a warm feeling, and at some level I think that's all it sets out to do. Uma is scintillatingly beautiful, ala '88 makeup trend at the time. This was the first movie I ever saw her in - before she became known - and I fell in love with her androgynous look immediately. Buscemi shows up, as well as a great cameo by east village music master Arto Lindsay (Ambitious Lovers) as a cab driver. Everything looks exactly the way it did in NYC '88, down to the horribly trashy dive clubs. If you watch movies for a certain feeling, you'll enjoy this one. If you watch movies in order to wax poetic like a fluke critic, then move on to some Oscar list.