When her brother dies of an overdose, a high school cheerleader named Lovely (Lucinda Dooling) wages a one-woman war against the drug dealers that control the school. No one wants to prosecute the head honcho, the awesomely named Mantis Managian (Rick Moser) because he’s the captain of the football team. Lovely jumps into action to take him down and quickly learns he’s just a small fish in a big pond. The real crooks are a pair of local businessmen who are in cahoots with (gasp!) Lovely’s square boyfriend (Mark Holden)!
Lovely but Deadly is anchored by a great performance by Lucinda Dooling. It’s a shame she only had a handful of acting credits because she is spunky, likeable, and fun to watch in this. She really gives it her all, and her earnestness is only matched by her enthusiasm, which is infectious.
Basically, what we have here is a teenage white girl version of Coffy. What it lacks in style (it looks like a TV movie), it makes up for in fun. Despite the subject matter, Lovely but Deadly is more goofy than exploitative. Take for example the great scene where three thugs steal swords and masks from the high school fencing team and fight Lovely in shop class. Or the scene where she gets jumped by her fellow pep squad members in the locker room. Or the big catfight that takes place at a swanky catered costume party (an obvious nod to Coffy).
It also moves at a relatively brisk pace, which certainly helps. Although the laughs (intentional and otherwise) become sparser as the film goes along, the big speedboat chase has a great punchline. You can’t take a second of it seriously, but you’ll probably have a big grin on your face the whole time.
The supporting cast is full of familiar faces. We have Judd Omen and Irwin Keyes as henchmen, Marie Windsor as Lovely’s aunt, Linda Shayne as a teen, and Richard Herd and Mel Novak as the villains. It’s really Dooling’s performance that ties it all together. Whenever she’s front and center karate-kicking drug dealers, Lovely but Deadly is a lot of fun.
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