SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
Sammy-Jo Cervantes
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
FireFan
This is a good film about a hopeful, musically-inclined girl whose gifted talents are under estimated because others seek to take advantage of her in the tough, competitive entertainment world. The main actress Monica Gayle plays an innocent country girl fan who is attractive, intelligent although somewhat naive, and intent on becoming a country music star but those attempts are constantly thwarted by manipulative and pretending admirers in the big city of Nashville. It seems almost a semi-comical show with its amount of inferred sexual exploitation that a viewer could believe might be an exaggeration, but maybe not. Jamie gets manhandled time and again but she seems to withstand the pressure with a hard optimism, and stubborn determination. She meets some new and possibly friendly people, and some well-meaning, but there is truly not any good to come of her urgent cause. Are they sincerely wanting to help her? But she's only just a lonely, simple country girl after all. The show contains some playable easy listening music that also features an appearance by 1970's country singer Johnny Rodriguez and has a nice quality resolution picture. The plot has a smooth moving yet easy to follow story that kept my interest but the show ended with an unclear and baffling ending. This is an interesting and worthy film that is fun to watch if only just to witness actress Monica Gayle's high-spirited efforts and loveliness which will have you rooting for her even though it leads into an unknown future. Fans of country music and mature audiences could really stay tuned to it!
Scott LeBrun
An endearing performance by lovely 70s starlet Monica Gayle ("Switchblade Sisters") is the centerpiece of this low budget, exploitative Roger Corman spin on a "Coal Miner's Daughter" type of story. Monica plays Jamie Barker, a teenage girl who leaves home, and hits the road to Nashville, with visions of country music stardom dancing in her head. She finds it to be a very bumpy road, since almost every male in sight is sleazy to one degree or another. Things start to look up when she makes the acquaintance of session musician Kelly (Roger Davis, 'Dark Shadows'), and country star Jeb Hubbard (Glenn Corbett, 'Route 66')."Nashville Girl" was written & produced by Peer J. Oppenheimer ('Operation C.I.A.'), and directed by one of the under rated filmmakers of the decade, Gus Trikonis ("Moonshine County Express"). It's a not uninteresting walk on the dark side of Nashville; as the story progresses, there's just one constant string of male characters who seem more interested in getting into Jamies' pants rather than helping her career.It is disheartening to see how often guys will take advantage of our heroine. It's likewise unfortunate to see her have a tough time making money. At one point, despite her misgivings, she takes a job as a masseuse. The good news is that there are some helpful female influences in her life, such as Frisky (Shirley Jo Finney, "The River Niger") and Jebs' wife Fran (Judith Roberts, "Eraserhead"). And there's quite a bit of lovely country music to enjoy. (Gayle doesn't do her own singing, but lip synchs adequately.) Ultimately, it ends on a hopeful note, with Jamie determined to succeed on her own terms.The solid cast also includes familiar faces like screenwriter / actor Leo Gordon ("The Haunted Palace"), Jesse White ("Harvey"), and Marcie Barkin ("Fade to Black"). Gayle is radiant in the lead, and for those who are interested, she does strip down to her birthday suit for an early bout of skinny dipping.Entertaining stuff that, at an hour and 32 minutes, doesn't overstay its welcome.Seven out of 10.
lazarillo
This movie teams up two underrated talents from the 1970's. The first is director Gus Trikonis (the former Mr. Goldie Hawn) who directed big-screen exploitation flicks like "Swinging Barmaids" and "The Student Body", underrated horror fare like "The Evil", and superior made-for-TV movies like "The Darker Side of Terror". The second is actress Monica Gayle, a breath-taking natural beauty who spent a good portion of all her movies modeling her luscious birthday suit, and as a result perhaps was never really given her due as an actress. With the possible exception of "Strawberries Need Rain", this is her best film.Gayle plays "Jamie", a sixteen-year-old runaway, who comes to Nashville to try to make it as a songwriter. Her character is not unlike the actress herself in that while she is actually genuinely talented, none of the loutish male agents and producers she interviews with seem to notice because they are all too busy trying to dip their wicks in her. One washed-up country music celebrity finally does take advantage of her MUSICAL talents, but he too eventually becomes possessed by her irresistible, nubile charms and for awhile this kind of turns into a low-budget, country-music version of "A Star is Born".This is not exactly a feminist film. "Jamie" is forcibly raped twice, taken advantage of my every man she meets, and at one point even ends up in a juvenile detention center after she's caught in a massage parlor bust (while a client is giving HER a massage). And, of course, in the camp she falls prey to the stereotypical lesbian guard. Despite all the exploitative elements though, Trikonis crafts a fairly realistic movie that does really show the seedy side of Nashville. It's not "Coal Miner's Daughter", but it's not exactly trying to be either. It's also not Robert Altman's "Nashville", but I found it a lot more fun to watch. And I actually thought it was quite a bit BETTER than the 70's version of "A Star Is Born" (with the insufferable Barbra Streisand). The country music songs are quite good (although unlike Sissy Spacek, Karen Black, and a lot of the actresses in the aforementioned movies, Gayle's singing was quite obviously dubbed). I hadn't heard a lot of the songs before, but there is a good cover of the Bob Will's classic "Faded love". I'd definitely recommend this one.
The_Void
Nashville Girl falls somewhere between an exploitation flick and a drama, but I'm not surprised that this is often considered an exploitation classic; as there are more than enough exploitative elements and the drama itself is interesting also. The film takes place in the Deep South and primarily focuses on the country music industry, although lots of other things come into play too. The main reason this film is so good is because of the way the narrative works; so many things happen in this film and it really doesn't become boring even for a minute, which is definitely much to its credit. The main character is Jamie Barker; a young country girl living in a no good town. She's out skinny dipping one day and attracts some unwanted attention from a no good hick type who proceeds to go ahead and rape her. The young girl is upset and confused and after an argument with her parents, decides to go to Nashville in order to find fame and fortune. So she sets off hitch hiking and gets a lift with two truckers before eventually reaching Nashville and finding that the way to the top is not always paved with gold.Monica Gayle takes the lead role and does excellently with it. She really convinces as the naive young girl at the film's centre and her likable persona is a real credit to the film. There's really nothing wrong with her performance and I'm surprised the actress didn't go on to make more films. Gus Trikonis (who would go on to direct the low budget horror The Evil a couple of years later) directs this film well; creating just enough of a sleazy atmosphere to please exploitation fans. The way that Nashville is portrayed is gritty and sleazy and while there's not much actual sleaze in the film, the atmosphere is a benefit to it. I can't say I'm a fan of this sort of music; but the songs featured are catchy enough and well sang. I don't know if Monica Gayle did her own singing; I'd like to think so, but she probably didn't. Anyway, this film is engrossing for its entire ninety minute runtime and it all boils down to a satisfying conclusion. Overall, Nashville Girl is an excellent little film that could do to be better known. Fans of seventies thrillers will want to check this little flick out!