MovieChat Forums > Streets of Fire (1984) Discussion > Baby Doll - the groupie

Baby Doll - the groupie

posted 11 years ago by nightswimming80
3 replies | jump to latest

I love this film but I never get Baby Doll, she comes across to me as one of the most pointless film characters ever.

She first appears spotting Ellen, Tom, Billy and McCoy in the crowd and blackmailing them into following them along. But although she stays with the group along the rest of the adventure, she's pretty much ignored by the plot and even by the characters who seem to act like she's not there. I think the only other time where she's acknowledged is when Tom goes to Ellen's room to collect his money (ending up only taking McCoy's part) and says to Baby Doll "You're still here?".

Was she supposed to mean more than a random appendix of the group (The Sorells play a much more important role in the adventue)?

[–] rickert 11 years ago

I had a feeling that she was going to betray them in some way but maybe it was from a subplot that was cut?

It's funny that she's Dottie from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and she was just on this season of The Voice. (I think she got cut recently though)

[–] sisterdebmac 11 years ago

I always wondered if it was because the same casting agent put her and Mykelti (Michael T.) Williamson in both The Righteous Apples TV show & SoF. Sometimes, it's as simple as a common studio or casting agency. But I already knew both Elizabeth (E.G.) Daily and Mykelti from that show (which I LOVED as a kid) before SoF, so I was just delighted to see them again, in the same movie. As for whether "Baby Doll" was supposed to actually have any plot purpose, eh. Why should she? Walter Hill always has lots of odd side characters in his films that don't amount to anything plot-wise. But somehow stick with you anyway.
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[–] stevewyzard (1751) 4 years ago

I agree with the assessment above: she's one of Walter Hill's oddball side characters that somehow "work".

Yet at the same time, I think the character is a "stand-in" for the audience. She's an "average, ordinary" person who suddenly finds herself swept into the middle of a big adventure that she never saw coming. She also has her one big scene with Ellen where she's a shy, awe-struck fan who's been allowed to meet her hero and share her heart.

EDIT: I've been told that the correct term is "audience proxy".