Everything sucks, and teenager Corinne “Third Degree” Burns (Diane Lane) isn’t afraid to tell you about it. When the TV news catches her getting fired for mouthing off to her boss, Burns enlists her kid sister “Dee Pleted” (Marin Kanter) and cousin, “Dizzy Heights” (Laura Dern, who sued her mother Diane Ladd for emancipation to star) to form The Stains, a garage band light on talent but gritty enough to charm an army of disaffected teens across the country.
Written by Oscar winner Nancy Dowd (COMING HOME, SLAP SHOT), and UK punk pioneer Caroline Coon, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS sat on the shelf for two years after its director (record exec Lou Adler) clashed with the writing team over their aspirational feminist vision for the film.
Hard to find for decades, STAINS found an audience on cable, where its razorblade, anti-corporate, “don’t put out” sensibility inspired a wave of upstart Riot Grrls like Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, and MARY JANE’S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE director Sarah Jacobson to start a revolution of their own.
