The influence of B-movie juvenile delinquent dramas from the '50s and '60s is evident in this B-grade juvenile delinquent drama from the '80s. When his father's stock crashes, Connecticut WASP Morgan Hiller (James Spader) and his family relocate to a tough Los Angeles barrio. He soon finds himself the target of Nick (Paul Mones), a belligerent bully with a less-than-classic fashion sense. To complicate matters, Morgan falls hopelessly in love with Nick's sexy girlfriend (Kim Richards). The ludicrous plot, embarrassing dialogue, uniformly bad method acting, and multiple musical montages actually add to Tuff Turf's appeal; without these special qualities, it would be another expensive, bland Hollywood flop rather than a low-budget flop full of verve and personality. While it falls short of Rashomon or Citizen Kane in artistic merit, it proves that a film need not have big stars, a big budget, or even a coherent script to be thoroughly entertaining.