17 year old Kyle comes to the big city in search of her half-sister Merci. Merci is on the run after being used to set up a murder. The police and the killers both want her. Kyle ends up on the streets until renegade cop Sgt. Teffler takes her in. Now he must protect her while trying to stop a white slavery ring from abducting more young girls. Police, like doctors, are not supposed to let their personal feelings get involved with the people they serve. But sometimes there are human feelings so strong that they get in the way of professional rules and regulations. "Jailbait" revolves around the conflict that Detective Lee Teffler (C. Thomas Howell) experiences as he becomes the Knight In Shining Armor to a Midwestern girl (Renee Humphrey) who comes to Hollywood looking for her sister (Krista Errickson)–an aspiring singer who has become a hooker as well as a suspect in a murder case that Detective Teffler is investigating.<br/><br/>Another suspect in the murder case is Teffler's boyhood friend (David Labiosa) –they used to raise hell on the streets together– who has taken a different path from the one chosen by Teffler. Rather than becoming a policeman like Teffler, his boyhood friend has become a cold, creepy, ruthless and sadistic criminal who specializes in white slavery.<br/><br/>The performances in "Jailbait" are surprisingly good for a "straight to video" type movie. Although not necessarily achieving Super Stardom, this is a group of actors worth watching for their talent, and for the heart that they put into their performances.<br/><br/>TRIVIA FANS may be interested to know that: 1) Krista Errickson went on to a distinguished career as a journalist and film maker.<br/><br/>2) Leslie Harter went on to get married to (and have 2 children with) "Back To The Future" director Bob Zemeckis. I must say a bad and clichéd film like this, manages to be very entertaining for a few reasons. 1- being cleavage, 2- being unintentionally funny- 3- C Thomas Howell who's descended into these B films, through no fault of his own. It's like he has to grin and take it. Not really caring about this film, through his on par performance, he plays cool super loner cop/once a street beggar for all of us to see. Streetwise as this films better known in Oz, doesn't have a bad story to it. A working girl has become a fugitive, after one of her tricks at a seedy motel, gets it in a sensitive region of his anatomy, a shock value scene in the investigation. She was seen leaving prior to the shooting, as she was tipped off by a slug of a character, dressed Hawaiian style, who likes to dog for the police. He mirrors sleazeball characters out of other vice films. Her younger sister, well played by Humphrey, acts tough on the outside, but who's scared on the inside, has just arrived at L.A, of course not knowing her beauty, is a pimp magnet. Her and Howell soon collide (yes they pash A little later) try to track her down (visions of Angel 3, I know) which has Howell visiting old haunts, a big player pimp, who uses his girls in sex tapes. This movie's an all so addictive watch. It's a prime example of how bad can be good. If a Howell fan, this demands your strict attention.
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293 weeks ago