a5c7b9f00b A sleazy record promotor tries to make it big with a local Chicago garage band and plans to make them famous while keeping the profits for himself.
Sleazy music promoter Boojie Baker convinces a pop band to come work for him. He arranges play dates, publicity, record contracts, and the band's loyalty by getting his hired girls to exercise their feminine charms on all who stand in his way. Thus he creates the new music sensation, The Big Blast, but the band is unhappy about Boojie keeping most of the money. When they try to leave, Boojie sets them up for trouble with the law, but offers to bail them out if they sign the contract. Can't anyone stop this scum bucket?
Blast Off Girls, despite the title, didn't have too much to do with girls. Instead, this film showcases a male rock band, trying to hit the big time in the music biz, during the late-60s. The band goes through quite a bit, as they struggle to become well-known pop stars. They have to contend with a ruthless, greedy manager, internal squabbles amongst the band members, living on a meager income, their own drug abuse etc., etc.<br/><br/>Though this movie is not the most exciting rock film in the world, it's entertaining in a hokey sort of way. The band plays some pretty decent garage/psychedelic rock, and they give-off an energetic vibe. There are many scenes in this film, that show the band frolicking merrily outdoors. In this way, the movie is similar to an episode of the Monkees. For those who are nostalgic about the late-60s rock scene, this movie will suffice.
By 1967, H.G. Lewis had stopped his gore career short with THE GRUESOME TWOSOME a year earlier. He directed a campy send-up of a rock group being used and humiliated by the music business called THE BLAST-OFF GIRLS that remained lost for years. Eventually, Something Weird Video unearthed it and released it. While it's all good campy fun, it could hardly be called essential Lewis.<br/><br/>The Faded Blue (a real-life Chicago garage band) star as The Big Blast, a Florida garage band who are conned into a business deal (without a contract) by big-time manager Boojie Baker (played disgustingly well by Dan Conway). Boojie uses beautiful women to con record executives and concert hall owners into letting the Blast play there and eventually makes them famous with a record on the Billboard Hot 100 called "Noise". When the group decides that Boojie isn't giving them enough money, they promptly drop him and he avenges himself by setting up a drug bust. But the group isn't finished with Boojie yet.<br/><br/>THE BLAST-OFF GIRLS suffers from one thing: the group isn't that good. When many of the "bad guy" executives say, "This group is just like any other", the audience can't help but agree with them! A multitude of garage bands erupted in the late 60s and it's hard to tell them apart. The Big Blast, if there ever were such a group, would have melted into the garage band sound without making much of a dent. Some of the songs heard are pretty good (like "Noise"), but others are overpowered by the annoying organ work. Of special note is the keyboard player, who is set up to be the comic relief and is pretty likable. As a matter of fact, the whole band are not bad actors and any viewer can identify with them. I was surprised to see Col. Sanders appear as himself, offering free fried chicken to the group in exchange for a performance outside his restaurant for dancing kids! Pretty cool stuff. Imagine anyone doing such a thing today for a low budget filmmaker! Besides The Big Blast is an unnamed garage band heard during the opening sequence that features the chief delinquent in JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT as the lead singer! They do a pretty good job, too, and I would have preferred the whole movie to be about them instead.<br/><br/>H.G. Lewis does what he can with a pretty slapshod storyline, but the film slows down too much when the band is off the screen. The background music really irks me, too. But BLAST-OFF GIRLS is kitschy fun that is worth seeing at least once. Lewis fans will die happy after seeing The Big Blast's stoned performance on live TV as only Lewis could do it! Recommended for one-time viewing and to anyone who ever was in a band or is now! Modern-day garage bands should really enjoy this! For a much better film on the same topic, though, seek out BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, which I enjoyed much more.