Foxfire

R

Released Aug 23, 1996

1 hr. 40 min.

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

44%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Five high school girls turn the tables on a teacher who makes sexual advances, but the principal punishes them instead. In order to get her confiscated art supplies, Maddy Wirtz (Hedy Burress) and her new friends, including the fearless Legs (Angelina Jolie) and the disturbed Goldie (Jenny Shimizu), sneak into the school, leading to an accidental fire. The incident cements the girls' friendship, but attacks by the football team and their own personal demons threaten to pull the group apart.

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June F

Lots of fun and a good snapshot of that time. It's also a very well made film. I don't quite understand its low rating as this movie was just as good as any coming of age film from the 90s and far better than most from the 80s. I would gladly give it a rewatch in a few years.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/24

Full Review

Kevin P

A true ‘90s time capsule film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Steve D

Better on paper than in practice.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/18/23

Full Review

Movie W

So the lighting, framing, and camera work was good!! And that's kind of about it. The writing, pacing, and character development of this movie was so so so bad. I could see what they were aiming for and they just missed the mark (and like tragically..) It's a shame too because the underlying concepts could've really been something psychologically thrilling and engaging--but they really didn't handle any of the major plot points well; they felt stiff, clumsy, and/or rushed. The movie dragged on and on because they had all these montages that really didn't further the plot. Also there's a scene where all the teenagers are depicted as nude for faaar too long. The development of the characters relationships is such a joke; they tried the hardest with Legs and Maddy, but because the writing is so bad it comes across as forced same as the rest of the relationships. I haven't seen any of the other versions of this movie or read the book it's supposedly based off of, but you're better off trying one of those. The cinematography does not save this movie and Angelina does not carry it in the slightest!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a great film. Don't trust this tomatometer. It honestly says something that it's so low given that most of the bad reviews are coming from white men.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Oh my, this was quite a terrible treat. Was looking for something along the lines of "Girl, Interrupted" and was in shock of how many marks they were able to miss in this girl-power film. Genuinely enjoyed the "coming of confidence" with Red's character as is evident of her removing her sweater. Extra half star for giving it a good ol college try!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

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Annette Haywood-Carter

Director

Hedy Burress

Maddy Wirtz

Angelina Jolie

Legs Sadovsky

Jenny Lewis

Rita Faldes

Jenny Shimizu

Goldie Goldman

Sarah Rosenberg

Violet Kahn

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Valerie Anne

Autostraddle

It’s a group of girls breaking free of expectations, it’s getting caught up in a mysterious stranger, it’s girlhood and teendom and that moment in time when you’re too old to buy into adults’ bullshit but too young to do too much about it.

Apr 3, 2024

Full Review

Sarah Fonseca

Autostraddle

The intermittently-spersed electric guitar solos make the movie a little less Revolution Grrrl Style Now and a lot more ABC After-School Special.

Nov 3, 2018

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

Variety

Joyce Carol Oates and her fans will be disappointed by this trivial and muddled screen version of her popular novel about female bonding and empowerment.

Rated: C-

Feb 6, 2008

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Just a perfect slice of mid-90s Riot grrrl feminist cinema.

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Zofia Wijaszka

In Their Own League

Foxfire, based on the book by Joyce Carol Oates, is one of the best universal coming-of-age stories for young women and women in general. The story of a true female bond will show you that together, we can move mountains.

Rated: A-

Feb 13, 2022

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Five high school girls turn the tables on a teacher who makes sexual advances, but the principal punishes them instead. In order to get her confiscated art supplies, Maddy Wirtz (Hedy Burress) and her new friends, including the fearless Legs (Angelina Jolie) and the disturbed Goldie (Jenny Shimizu), sneak into the school, leading to an accidental fire. The incident cements the girls' friendship, but attacks by the football team and their own personal demons threaten to pull the group apart.

Director: Annette Haywood-Carter
Screenwriter: Elizabeth White
Production Co: Chestnut Hill Productions, Rysher Entertainment, Red Mullet Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 23, 1996, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $258.3K
Sound Mix: Surround

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