In their harsh world, the regulars on the Boulevard engage in a minute to minute struggle against each other. The story presents action and reaction, with no intellectual depth or analysis. The Boulevard boasts a selection of hookers, drag queens, junkies, pimps, cops, murderers and rapists, all mistrusting each other, all dangerously defensive. Despite this, the most violent and sexually explicit scenes are those of Jennifers flashbacks to her messy past, before she came to the Boulevard. Jennifer lands homeless after a series of traumatic events; she's just given birth, adopted her baby out, run away from her abusive partner, and given up all her money for a bus ticket to Toronto. A local working girl feels sorry for her so takes her in. Performance ranks as one of the better features of Boulevard. I've never seen Kari Wuhrer play a part so well. Lance Henriksen and Lou Diamond Phillips were damn memorable. Hahah. The quality of the film crashes when it comes to relationship development. Broad insults, verbal abuse, sex and physical violence sum up almost all character interaction. Even the budding 'love' between Jennifer and Ola seemed more like a convenient, mutually-rewarding 'arrangement'. The ugly ending only exemplified Boulevard as one of the cheaply effective 90's-classic tragedy genre. But still, quite good.
10 Reviews
Sisterhood triumphs
bkoganbing7 June 2009
Lou Diamond Phillips and Rae Dawn Chong, two players known for three names, star in this Canadian production about a woman fleeing from her abusive husband and winding up on the mean streets of Toronto. But neither Lou or Rae is playing that part. Oh come now, Lou Diamond Phillips did do drag in Hollywood Homicide.
Kari Wuhrer plays that part the abused woman fleeing from a real loser of a husband in Joel Bissonette. But before long after she arrives in Toronto, Kari's got reason to think about that old saying concerning the devil you know. She makes the acquaintance of prostitute Rae Dawn Chong who is a street prostitute and pretty soon she'll be required to join the stable of pimp Lou Diamond Phillips. He's far worse than the wife beating husband she fled from.
The saving grace is her relationship with Chong as the two of them discover they've got more feelings for each other than the abusive men they've known.
In fact other than Toronto cop Lance Henriksen the men in this film are one scurvy sampling of the species.
The players all do fine in their roles, especially Phillips who has done the dark side in a few of his movies. Lou was never darker in any film however than he is in Boulevard.
I'd like to say that Boulevard was a serious film about lesbianism because Chong and Wuhrer are a touching couple. But this is a movie that will be far better appreciated at Hooters than at any women's film festival.
Kari Wuhrer plays that part the abused woman fleeing from a real loser of a husband in Joel Bissonette. But before long after she arrives in Toronto, Kari's got reason to think about that old saying concerning the devil you know. She makes the acquaintance of prostitute Rae Dawn Chong who is a street prostitute and pretty soon she'll be required to join the stable of pimp Lou Diamond Phillips. He's far worse than the wife beating husband she fled from.
The saving grace is her relationship with Chong as the two of them discover they've got more feelings for each other than the abusive men they've known.
In fact other than Toronto cop Lance Henriksen the men in this film are one scurvy sampling of the species.
The players all do fine in their roles, especially Phillips who has done the dark side in a few of his movies. Lou was never darker in any film however than he is in Boulevard.
I'd like to say that Boulevard was a serious film about lesbianism because Chong and Wuhrer are a touching couple. But this is a movie that will be far better appreciated at Hooters than at any women's film festival.
Okay.
aishasheikh29 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a story about an abused woman named Jennefer who leaves her awful husband and flees to Toronto. She gets tangled in the world of prostitution. Jennefer is kind of stupid and dramatic. For some reason, while she is homeless on the streets of Toronto, she confides in a pimp named Hassan (which is a weird name, since it is Arabic and Lou Diamond Phillips looks East Asian). You're just going to step into a car with suspicious dude? She even goes to his apartment despite Ola's warnings and hardly knowing the man. Also, although Jennefer is adequate and healthy, she is unable to get a job (which is also weird), so she turns to become a prostitute like Ola (which is even weirder because Jennefer said at the beginning that she could never do a job like that). And when she's not being stupid, she is screaming and crying all the time. Like ALL THE TIME. She's just too trustworthy and naive. I just feel that her character is overdone. Hassan: Hassan is an interesting character. He is violent and if his prostitutes mess with him, they pay with their lives. I like his pimp rod. Lance Henriksen is the police officer, who for some reason doesn't do anything when he knows about this prostitution ring. If he knew all about these prostitutes, I would expect him to know about Hassan and the prostitute who was killed, so why not just arrest Hassan in the first place as a suspect in the crime? Ola: When Hassan was arrested, I don't understand why she didn't just leave like she wanted to. Hassan is no longer threatening her to prostitute herself, so why does she bother? Instead she chooses to stay for some reason. I also think it's odd that Ola let Jennefer prostitute herself. If you're trying to protect Jennefer and you hate your life as it is, why would you want Jennefer to be entangled in it? And like another person has posted, I don't understand why the ticket salesman told that creepy husband of hers where she went. Also, there is a lot of nudity in this film that is not really necessary. Why must I see Jennefer naked in the shower like three times?!? Overall, this is a movie that seems to assume that men are bad and women are good. I think it conveys a good depiction of the lives of prostitutes. From this film, I feel more sorry for those who lead these types of lives, but some parts of the film didn't really make much sense.
Like a Lifetime Network movie but with tits
movieman_kev13 April 2006
Kari Wuhrer is Jennefer, a spousally battered woman, who takes to the streets of Toranto to escape her past where she meets Ola (Rae Dawn Chong) a 'hooker with a heart of gold' who takes her under her wing. Of course it's only a matter of time before Jen starts turning tricks herself, which she does. But the mean old pimp (Lou Diamond Phillips, marginally better here than he was in "Bats") may mess up the budding relationship that Jen and Olga are starting up (yea they're lesbian 'girl power' yay). Lance Henriksen is also on hand, and sadly wasted, as a cop. If you took out the nudity (which would also cut out any reason why any guy would watch this), this would make a film that Lifetime would LOVE.
Eye Candy: Kari Wuhrer gets fully nude (you have to sit through pretty much all of this turd to see it though); Amber Lea Weston shows her right tit extremely briefly, and Rea Dawn Chong gets topless (ok, the last one isn't really a selling point)
My Grade: D-
Where I saw it: FLIX
Eye Candy: Kari Wuhrer gets fully nude (you have to sit through pretty much all of this turd to see it though); Amber Lea Weston shows her right tit extremely briefly, and Rea Dawn Chong gets topless (ok, the last one isn't really a selling point)
My Grade: D-
Where I saw it: FLIX
Sisterhood is powerful!
JohnSeal20 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I have no idea if writer Andrea Wilde and director Penelope Buitenhuis intended to make a feminist exploitation film, but that's what Boulevard is. Kari Wuhrer plays a young woman who flees to the big city after getting knocked up by her abusive boyfriend (Joel Bissonette). Once there she tries to ignore the advances of local pimp lord Hassan (an oddly effective Lou Diamond Phillips), instead preferring the company of independent hooker Ola (Rae Dawn Chong). They're soon sharing a bath, a bed, and a Maya Angelou book. Wuhrer and Chong both deliver surprisingly good performances and the always excellent Lance Henriksen is also on hand as a vice cop. And for once, this filmed in Toronto production is actually set in...Toronto! Much better than you would expect.
Dark and Ugly Exploitation Film.
tfrizzell28 February 2003
Kari Wuhrer immediately gives up her new-born child to adoption and runs away from her abusive lover in this dark and bleak mess. Life on the streets of Toronto is tough though and she falls in with sadistic pimp Lou Diamond Phillips and psychologically tortured prostitute Rae Dawn Chong. The plot, what little there is, thickens when detective Lance Henriksen starts going after Phillips for killing one of his charges and Wuhrer's boyfriend starts a fevered search for her. The shoe-string production tries to intrigue by having somewhat notable names and then adding lots of violence and sexual situations. One of those films that should be avoided completely. Nothing to recommend here. Turkey (0 stars out of 5).
Lou Diamond Phillips has the plague
bombersflyup6 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Boulevard is awful. It's dire, bleak, uninteresting and void of any fun.
There was always a good chance it would be terrible, so I have no-one to blame, but I will watch anything that has Kari Wuhrer in it. Every character other than Kari's is awful, even Henriksen's, which was a bit of a surprise as I remember liking other roles he's played.
There was always a good chance it would be terrible, so I have no-one to blame, but I will watch anything that has Kari Wuhrer in it. Every character other than Kari's is awful, even Henriksen's, which was a bit of a surprise as I remember liking other roles he's played.
"Boulevard" makes the "Angel" (1984) exploitation film seem like Disneyland ...
merklekranz16 February 2011
Not since "Ramrod", Wings Hauser, in the ultra violent "Vice Squad" (1982), has a pimp been more memorable than the sadistic "Hassan", played with gusto by Lou Diamond Phillips, in "Boulevard" (1994). This film is the real deal, with Kari Wuhrer playing a small town girl on the run from her abusive boyfriend. Winding up in the Toronto "red light district" , she is befriended by a sympathetic prostitute (Rae Dawn Chong), while being pursued by the pimp and her old boyfriend. Lance Henriksen is a vice detective who tries to keep things from getting out of control on the hooker infested streets. This is without question one of the best exploitation movies dealing with pimps and ho's, and makes something like "Angel" (1984) seem like Disneyland. - MERK
Good on Atmosphere, Terrible on Character Development
jayraskin128 June 2014
There's some nice cinematography and atmosphere. The film makes you feel the cold of the Toronto streets where the prostitutes ply their trade. It has a nice streets of the city, Scorsese "Taxi Driver" atmosphere.
Unfortunately the characters, despite some nice acting by the cast, are pretty one dimensional. They are constantly doing things that are required by the script, but make no sense. For example, why does the lead character Jennifer stand freezing on a street after arriving in Toronto instead of getting help? Why does she go with a pimp (Lou Diamond Philips) who she has seen abusing women, including her best friend, Ola. Why does her best friend, Ola, befriend the prostitutes on the street, but not report the pimp to the police when he kills a prostitute? Why does the pimp kill the prostitute? Why does the cop threaten to kill the pimp whom he knows is a murderer, but does not arrest him? Why does a ticket seller for Greyhound tell a psychotic looking boyfriend which bus she has taken, when he can just say, "I don't remember." The answer is that they are following a script that makes them all look stupid at every turn.
The movie's solution to the prostitution problems it raises is simple. Prostitutes and abused girlfriends should get guns and kill their tormentors. Police should just turn a blind eye when this happens.
Three stars for the cinematography and acting. Zero for everything else.
Unfortunately the characters, despite some nice acting by the cast, are pretty one dimensional. They are constantly doing things that are required by the script, but make no sense. For example, why does the lead character Jennifer stand freezing on a street after arriving in Toronto instead of getting help? Why does she go with a pimp (Lou Diamond Philips) who she has seen abusing women, including her best friend, Ola. Why does her best friend, Ola, befriend the prostitutes on the street, but not report the pimp to the police when he kills a prostitute? Why does the pimp kill the prostitute? Why does the cop threaten to kill the pimp whom he knows is a murderer, but does not arrest him? Why does a ticket seller for Greyhound tell a psychotic looking boyfriend which bus she has taken, when he can just say, "I don't remember." The answer is that they are following a script that makes them all look stupid at every turn.
The movie's solution to the prostitution problems it raises is simple. Prostitutes and abused girlfriends should get guns and kill their tormentors. Police should just turn a blind eye when this happens.
Three stars for the cinematography and acting. Zero for everything else.
dirty exploitation-style B-movie
SnoopyStyle19 March 2016
Small town girl Jennefer (Kari Wuhrer) escapes from her abusive boyfriend J-Rod (Joel Bissonnette) to the big city of Toronto after giving up her newborn baby for adoption. She ends up sleeping on the streets encountering prostitute Ola (Rae Dawn Chong) and pimp Hassan (Lou Diamond Phillips). Ola finally relents and takes her in. Hassan kills one of his girls which is witnessed by Ola and another guy. Police detective McClaren (Lance Henriksen) investigates.
This is an odd little exploitation movie. It tries to be hard and gritty. However, it comes off as a knockoff of a dirty 70's B-movie. Hassan is walking around with his cane and pimp gear. Even some of the cars are more 70s and 80s. The Chinese witness is in his stereotype kitchen gear. People are warming themselves with trash fires. Hookers are walking the streets. It's like a 70s movie dropped in the middle of 90s Toronto. The acting is uneven. I like Rae Dawn Chong. Kari Wuhrer is trying too hard to be the damsel in distress. The two women have some good moments and had potential to be something more. Lou Diamond Phillips is ridiculously pimplicious. This is definitely a B-movie.
This is an odd little exploitation movie. It tries to be hard and gritty. However, it comes off as a knockoff of a dirty 70's B-movie. Hassan is walking around with his cane and pimp gear. Even some of the cars are more 70s and 80s. The Chinese witness is in his stereotype kitchen gear. People are warming themselves with trash fires. Hookers are walking the streets. It's like a 70s movie dropped in the middle of 90s Toronto. The acting is uneven. I like Rae Dawn Chong. Kari Wuhrer is trying too hard to be the damsel in distress. The two women have some good moments and had potential to be something more. Lou Diamond Phillips is ridiculously pimplicious. This is definitely a B-movie.
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