Last Night after dinning at a very different restaurant, Georgies Alibi, I asked my boyfriend if we could watch Sucker Punch. It had just been released to DVD and since we had skipped it in the theater (because of the reviews), I figured why not.
Going into this movie, I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard it had a bad plot, no plot, pointless storyline and so forth. The only really good think I had heard about this movie was the graphics were killer, but you could tell that from the previews. So ready to sit through 110 min of crap we got the movie OnDemand.
The movie starts off with a young girl named Baby Doll (played by Emily Browning) and her sister being informed by their sexually and physically abusive stepfather that their mother is dead. Crushed the girls try to comfort each other, while their stepfather reviews his deceased wifes will. Realizing that everything was left to the two girls, the stepfather proceeds to get intoxicated. Drunk he stumbles into Baby Dolls room, either looking to rape her or beat her (honestly, it is not to clear) Baby Doll scratches at his face and manages to slam her door. Looking through the keyhole, she sees the drunk mad man turn towards her little sisters room. Realizing that she has to save her little sister from this intoxicated pedophile, Baby Doll slips out her window and out into the rain. Sneaking around and back into the house she gets the family gun. Crying with rage she shots at her stepfather, but the bullet only grazes his arm and instead sinks into her sister’s neck, killing her instantly. Seeing his opportunity to illuminate both sisters and claim the inheritance, the stepfather has Baby Doll committed.
Baby Doll and her stepfather pull up to the insane asylum, drugged into a docile state; Baby Doll is ushered through the institute. Blue Jones (played by Oscar Isaac) speaks with Baby Dolls stepfather, insuring him that he can take care of the arrangements discussed. As the caretakers walk her towards the “auditorium” Baby Doll sleepily takes in her surroundings, she passes a map of the facility, a security guard with a zippo, the kitchen cook cutting onions. Leading them into the “auditorium” you see the other disturbed girls working with their therapist, Dr. Vera Gorski (played by Carla Gugino). Baby Doll stands in a daze as two girls leap at each other over a table and the orderlies rush over to pull them apart. Leaning in Blue tells the stepfather that per their discussion, the fee has gone up from $1,400 to $2,000 because he will now need to forge Dr. Sorski’s signature for the lobotomy that is scheduled to occur in 5 days. Realizing he has no choice if he wants to keep Baby Doll silent about the shooting, attempted rape and assault, the stepfather grudgingly hands over the extra cash.
Knowing there is no hope of escape, Baby Doll begins to listen in on Dr. Gorski telling one of the girl that she haw power within her own mind; through her imagination. Baby Doll closers her eyes slowly and when she re-opens them she is no longer in the institute, but in a dance hall. Looking at her stepfather, she sees a corrupt priest selling her to a Pimp named Blue, in preparation for a high roller that is coming in 5 days. Blue is the owner of the dance hall, the girls and Ms. Gorski. Looking back up to the stage Baby Doll sees Sweet Pea (played by Abbie Cornish) finishing up her star performance. Sweet Pea too busy to show Baby Doll enlists her younger sister, Rocket (played by Jena Malone) to show the newbie around.
Quickly, Baby Doll realizes that she is a whore; she is going to be expected to learn a dance, memorize it and dance for the men until one selects her and takes her into the back. Baby Doll, being a virgin, is safe from the men for 5 days, until the high roller comes to take that away from her. Following Rocket around Baby Doll quickly meets the other girls in the practice room: Blondie (played by Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (played by Jamie Chung). Devastated, Baby Doll cries the night away in the bathroom, able to relate, Rocket sits beside her to comfort her.
Baby Doll begins to flash back and forth between the dance hall and the asylum. She finds herself cleaning the asylum bathroom when Blue leans over her and a key drops away from his chest on a chain, she watches it swing back and forth in front of her. He tells her that it is only a matter of time while he licks his lips and looks at her with lust filled eyes. She finds herself on Dr. Gorski’s couch unable to say the truth about her stepfather’s abuse or the abuse she is receiving at the asylum. She continues to flash back and forth between the dance hall and the institute as a way to escape the hellish reality of what Blue and the other orderlies are doing to her and the knowledge that in a few days she will be nothing more than a vegetable for them to continue to assault and have their way with. Realizing that she left her abusive stepfather only to fall into the hands of the abusive men at the girl’s asylum, Baby Doll gives up and escapes into her dance hall world permanently.
Baby Doll soon falls into a rhythm at the dance hall, knowing all the girls not only dance to please the men, sleep with them to satisfy their desires, but also do chores and work around the facility. Rocket is working in the kitchen, lugging bags of potatoes into the fridge while the fat lazy cook sits listening to music and eating. Baby Doll is in the hall outside scrubbing the floors (much like orphan Annie). Rocket, realizing that the cook is distracted tries to steal a small piece of chocolate, but when she turns around the cook is on top of her. He tosses her to the ground and forces himself on top of her, crying out in panic Baby Doll hears Rocket and goes into the kitchen. Seeing the cook on top of Rocket, she pulls the knife from the cooks belt and pushes it against this neck. Seeing his life flash before his eyes the cook backs away and Rocket and Baby Doll escape.
**Side Note – sad how men that work in places like that feel they can (or could) take advance of girls like that. Those girls are trapped, they have nowhere else to go and are being pimped out by a man who will kill them if they cross him. In this PG-13 version we saw Rocket escape before the fat, disgusting, ugly cook could force himself into her, but in the real life (R version) it would have been completely different and those girls have to live with that risk day in and day out**
The story moves forward and the girls run to prepare for dance practice. Sweet Pea is in the middle of the floor, doing her routine when Ms. Gorski stops her, frustrated. Sending Sweet Pea aside to re-focus, Ms. Gorski turns to Baby Doll. She sends Baby Doll into the middle of the dance floor as Blue and his 2 pimp friends come into the studio to watch. Unable to dance the first time, Ms. Gorski encourages her to let her mind take her….and she does. Baby Doll closes her eyes and when she opens them again she finds herself outside a Japanese Dojo in the snow.
Walking inside, Baby Doll comes across an old man (played by Scott Glenn)
**Side Note – I was going crazy trying to figure out who this guy was, I have seen him in so many things. Once I finally had a chance to Google it…I had an A-Ha moment**
Coming up the stairs towards the old man, Baby Doll takes in her surroundings. The man looks up, he tells Baby Doll that if she collects five objects within five days, she will be able to escape the dance studio and the high roller. In order to live, Baby Doll must collect: a map, fire, a knife, a key and a fifth object that she will have to uncover herself. Accepting the mission, the man gives Baby Doll a katana sward and a handgun (with apparently unlimited bullets…cuz that baby never runs out). The old man wishes Baby Doll good luck and as she turns to leave, he tells her to stay alive. Walking out the Dojo, Baby Doll encounters 3 giant samurai warriors that she must fight and defeat to begin her mission.
**Side Note – I love how three men came to watch Baby Doll dance – the same 3 guys in the insane asylum that torment her – and now she must overcome her fear and defeat 3 giant warriors to begin her mission**
Baby Doll is timid at first, just like when she first began to dance, but she battles each one in a CGI beauty, and slays them all…ending her dance in the studio.
Ms. Gorski, Blue and all the girls are impressed…except Sweet Pea, who up until then had always been the star! All the men seemed to become memorized like in a trance while they watched Baby Doll dance. Later that night while all the girls are sitting in the dorm-bedroom and Rocket asked Baby Doll what she thought about when she danced…Baby Doll responds…escaping. All the girls look at Baby Doll in amazement, but she is determined.
The next day the girls prepare to go onto stage. Rocket looks at her sister Sweet Pea and tells her that she wants to escape with Baby Doll. Sweet Pea is shocked; she gave up everything to come here after Rocket just to keep her safe, not because she needed to be.
**Side Note – from this I gathered that Rocket had a breakdown at home and her parents sent her to the asylum, Sweet Pea worried about her sister, slipped away from her house and loving parents to come to the asylum and watch out after Rocket**
Rocket admits to her sister that Baby Doll had saved her when the cook attacked her and she can’t take it anymore. Sweet Pea seeing the determination in Baby Dolls eyes and the need in her sisters face, decided to go alone with the plane. Blondie and Amber join in ready to help.
Now Baby Doll reveals her list to the girls and together they begin. Sweet Pea agrees to go into Blues office when he goes to see Baby Doll dance and get a copy of the facility map. When Blue comes into the room, Baby Doll begins to dance…sending him into a trance…and her into her alternate reality. Baby Doll awakes in World War I. The old man is there again, but this time, Baby Doll has the back up of her friends. The old man tells the girls that they must fight past the Germans to retrieve the map. The man gives Amber a giant machine suit with a bunny on it and warns the girls that the Germans are not alive, but in fact reanimated soldiers who have been put back together with wires and clocks.
The girls fight their way into the enemy trenches, with soldiers around every corner. Rocket almost dies before Sweet Pea comes around the corner mowing the reanimated Germans down with a machine gun. Baby Doll ducks and cuts slicing though the enemy like they were butter while Amber takes down the enemy aircraft and provides the girls with cover fire. Making it to the center of the camp Baby Doll gets cut off from the other girls as she is locked inside with a man that looks like her burned stepfather and another guy that looks like Blue. The map behind the burned man, he sees where she is looking and pulls it from the wall. He hands it to the other man and tells him to run. Baby Doll seeing her chance passing her by fights for all she is worth and brings the house down, killing the burned man. The other solider gets away with the map over his shoulder and Baby Doll chases behind him only to just miss him as he swings up on a ladder of a zeppelin. Seeing she only has one thing to do she grabs a machine gun and takes the zeppelin down and with the help of the bunny machine and the girls retrieves the map.
The girls fight their way into the enemy trenches, with soldiers around every corner. Rocket almost dies before Sweet Pea comes around the corner mowing the reanimated Germans down with a machine gun. Baby Doll ducks and cuts slicing though the enemy like they were butter while Amber takes down the enemy aircraft and provides the girls with cover fire. Making it to the center of the camp Baby Doll gets cut off from the other girls as she is locked inside with a man that looks like her burned stepfather and another guy that looks like Blue. The map behind the burned man, he sees where she is looking and pulls it from the wall. He hands it to the other man and tells him to run. Baby Doll seeing her chance passing her by fights for all she is worth and brings the house down, killing the burned man. The other solider gets away with the map over his shoulder and Baby Doll chases behind him only to just miss him as he swings up on a ladder of a zeppelin. Seeing she only has one thing to do she grabs a machine gun and takes the zeppelin down and with the help of the bunny machine and the girls retrieves the map.
**Side Note – again the CGI in this is just beautiful**
Coming back to reality Baby Doll releases Blue from her grasp. Blue, thrilled with what he sees tells Ms. Gorski that he wants Baby Doll to dance for the Mayor. Ms. Gorski, seeing how young and fresh Baby Doll is at first rejects the idea, but Blue reminds her who is boss of the facility and Ms. Gorski timidly agrees. Blue returns to his office and notices something is wrong. Looking around the room he finds that the copier is still warm and there are now tow push pin holes in the map instead of one…he senses something is wrong.
When the girls find out that the Mayor is coming to watch Baby Doll dance, they see their chance to get the second thing on the list…fire. The Mayor is a cigar smoker and always carries his zippo with him. Knowing that the Mayor is Amber’s client, they talk her into stealing it.
When the girls find out that the Mayor is coming to watch Baby Doll dance, they see their chance to get the second thing on the list…fire. The Mayor is a cigar smoker and always carries his zippo with him. Knowing that the Mayor is Amber’s client, they talk her into stealing it.
As Baby Doll takes the stage, the men are transported into a drug like state and Baby Doll is sent into her own world, a medieval world. The old man is there again with the girls aboard an older boomer. Amber is driving again and Blondie is at the guns. The old man tells the girls that they must infiltrate the castle below killing all the creatures guarding it and make their way below to the dragon’s layer. There the girls would find a baby dragon and they must slit its throat and retrieve two ruby red stones from deep inside it…all without waking the mother.
Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, and Rocket dive into action, leaping from the plane and landing inside the castle. Fighting off a horde of creatures, the girls go deeper into the castle, killing the monsters from front and back. Finally they make it to the dragon’s layer. Baby Doll sneaks up on the sleeping baby dragon and kill it. Ripping back the flesh Baby Doll and Rocket reach inside to find the two perfect stones. But they didn’t do it in complete silence and the baby’s mother awoke. Realizing that these girls had just killed her baby, the dragon chases the girls out of the castle.
Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, and Rocket dive into action, leaping from the plane and landing inside the castle. Fighting off a horde of creatures, the girls go deeper into the castle, killing the monsters from front and back. Finally they make it to the dragon’s layer. Baby Doll sneaks up on the sleeping baby dragon and kill it. Ripping back the flesh Baby Doll and Rocket reach inside to find the two perfect stones. But they didn’t do it in complete silence and the baby’s mother awoke. Realizing that these girls had just killed her baby, the dragon chases the girls out of the castle.
Seeing what is going on, Amber and Blondie turn the boomer around and start shooting at the dragon. Furious with what is going on, the dragon leaves the girls on the ground and goes after the girls in the sky. Swooping and dodging, Amber barley eludes the fire blasting out the dragon’s mouth. Shooting out the back Blondie almost dies as the dragon tears off the back of the aircraft. Realizing they can’t defete the dragon, Amber dives back towards Baby Doll. The dragon…seeing the girls that killed her baby, turns to pursue them. Flying low and sliding into the ground, the dragon breaths out a long blast of fire. Baby Doll leaps over it landing on the dragons head and driving the kitana into its brain killing it.
The dance ends. The men are amazed by what they saw. The Mayor is fascinated. He reaches for his lighter, but it is gone.
Back in the locker room the girls are celebrating. Two items down and two to go, Baby Doll hid the lighter and not a moment too soon, Blue walks into the room with the 2 sidekicks. He tells them that he knows something is going on…and tells them they should give up now, because it will end badly if they don’t.
Undeterred, the girls move onto the next item. Working in the kitchen (all except Blondie) Baby Doll steps up to do another show while Rocket and Sweet Pea get the knife and Amber guards the door. Flashing into her alternate world, Baby Doll opens her eyes to see them old man again. He tells the girls that there is a ticking bomb on a speeding train that will explode once it crosses city limits. The girls must go down and disarm it before it goes off, however the bomb is guarded by a bunch of cyborgs. Rocket, Baby Doll and Sweet Pea leap from the helicopter into the train. Working swiftly and together they destroy the cyborgs. As they disarm the boom, Amber drops a rope from the helicopter. Attaching it to the boom, Amber tries to life it, but it is stuck. Realizing that she missed a latch, Rocket leans down to fix it. Behind her a half destroyed cyborg leaps at her pushing her against the wall with such force the jet pack to explode and re-armed the boom.
Undeterred, the girls move onto the next item. Working in the kitchen (all except Blondie) Baby Doll steps up to do another show while Rocket and Sweet Pea get the knife and Amber guards the door. Flashing into her alternate world, Baby Doll opens her eyes to see them old man again. He tells the girls that there is a ticking bomb on a speeding train that will explode once it crosses city limits. The girls must go down and disarm it before it goes off, however the bomb is guarded by a bunch of cyborgs. Rocket, Baby Doll and Sweet Pea leap from the helicopter into the train. Working swiftly and together they destroy the cyborgs. As they disarm the boom, Amber drops a rope from the helicopter. Attaching it to the boom, Amber tries to life it, but it is stuck. Realizing that she missed a latch, Rocket leans down to fix it. Behind her a half destroyed cyborg leaps at her pushing her against the wall with such force the jet pack to explode and re-armed the boom.
A leak in the kitchen brings the music to a halting stop and a the cook comes back to reality. Realizing what the girls were trying to do, the cook grabs his knife and stabs at Sweet Pea. Rocket, seeing what will happen, jumps in front of Sweet Pea
The music kicks back on and the Baby Doll enters her world again. Running to help Rocket, Baby Doll and Sweet Pea realize there is not much they can do. Rocket yells at Baby Doll to get out before the boom explodes and cuts the rope holding her to the train. Sweet Pea, crushed, tells Rocket they can fly together, but Rocket knows the jet pack won’t hold them both. She hits Sweet Peas ignition button sending her into the sky…and Baby Dolls dance ends.
Meanwhile, Blondie, unable to take the stress anymore turns to Ms. Gorski. She spills the entire plan out to Ms. Gorski and Blue…in hopes of saving the girl.
**Side Note – I was not surprised the little girl from Disney was the one who couldn’t keep her mouth shut!**
…and the knife cuts deep into Rockets flesh. Sweet Pea screams, the knife she was stealing slid across the floor to Ambers feet. Blue comes crashing in, taking in the scene, he yells at the cook and locks Sweet Pea away in the closet. But the knife that flew out of Sweet Peas hands and landed at Ambers feet is gone.
The girls are on their last day, day 5 and the 'The High-Roller' arrives to see Baby Doll. The girls, upset over the death of Rocket are still without the 4th and last tool. Blue arrives in the dressing room and informs the girls that Blondie was a little snitch. In an attempt to reassert his manhood or whatever he kills Amber and Blondie. Everyone screams and runs from the dressing room. Blue looks at Baby Doll, he leans closer to her, deciding that she has been so much effort, that he may as well taste her even if he doesn’t end up getting money from the High Roller. Leaning in to rape Baby Doll, she frantically backs away. Reaching under the desk drawer Baby Doll claws for the knife that Amber had hidden. She grabs it and stabs him in the shoulder. Grabbing the key from around his neck she kicks him to the ground.
Baby Doll grabs the other items and runs to free Sweet Pea. Realizing that no one else is coming besides them, Sweet Pea moves into action. They take a bottle of liquor and cloth, lighting it with the zippo they toss it into the closet creating a roaring fire. They then use the map to make their way to the security doors, before the fire is found. Once the fire alarm is pulled the final security door is automatically unlocked and the two girls sneak outside, only to find their way blocked by a bunch of men
Baby Doll grabs the other items and runs to free Sweet Pea. Realizing that no one else is coming besides them, Sweet Pea moves into action. They take a bottle of liquor and cloth, lighting it with the zippo they toss it into the closet creating a roaring fire. They then use the map to make their way to the security doors, before the fire is found. Once the fire alarm is pulled the final security door is automatically unlocked and the two girls sneak outside, only to find their way blocked by a bunch of men
Suddenly Baby Doll realizes that the fifth item is her, she is not the one who is supposed to escape this hell, but Sweet Pea, the girl who doesn’t truly belong there. Sweet Pea has a loving mother and father back home. She abandoned them to look after her sister. She turns to Sweet Pea and tells her to go back to her family and tell them about Rocket. Sweet Pea torn between what to do, finally allows Baby Doll to distract them while she makes her escape
Baby Doll proudly walks up to the men in front of the gate knowing that she must face the High Roller. Laughing at the little girl the men ask what she is doing there. She promptly kicks the man closes too her in the balls. The man recovers and knocks Baby Doll out.
Next we find ourselves at the end of the lobotomy. The doctor pulls back looking at Baby Dolls face, amazed that she didn’t show any fear and in fact seemed to be asking for it with her eyes. The doctor backs away startled. Dr. Gorski comes in to the room. She asks how things went. The Doctor tells her what he saw in her eyes. Dr. Gorski sighs, she tells the doctor that she felt that she didn’t have enough time to help Baby Doll a week is not long enough to see any type of changes, but after all the problems Baby Doll caused in the facility: setting fire to a closet, and even stabbing the head of the facility, Blue and helping another girl to escape, it seemed like this was the way to go, even if she didn’t agree with this form of treatment. The Lobotomist, looked at Dr. Gorski with a question in his eyes, “if you don’t agree with this form of treatment, why did you sign off on it”
Dr. Gorski looked at him with puzzlement on her face, “I didn’t”
The Lobotomist hands Dr. Gorski the paperwork with her signature on it. Realizing that something is
nd asked while still questions the speed of the request that Gorski signed regarding Baby Doll, but the Doctor shockingly explains that she did not make any such request!
Meanwhile, a lobotomized Baby Doll is led away to a private room by Blue, the orderly. Alone at last, the stabbed orderly tells his co-workers that Baby Doll can’t stop him from doing what he wants. His co-works realize what they have done and refuse to help him. Leaving Blue alone in the room with Baby Doll, Blue kisses her. Please to have his way with her again. When she doesn’t respond like she had the other times he had raped her, he gets pissed. He starts to chock Baby Doll screaming at her. Suddenly the door bursts open and Dr. Gorski, the doctor and the police see what he is doing. Dragging the sick freak from the room, Blue starts to tell the whole store…about Baby Doll’s stepfather paying him to have her lobotomized to keep her quite about raping and assaulting the girls.
Meanwhile, a lobotomized Baby Doll is led away to a private room by Blue, the orderly. Alone at last, the stabbed orderly tells his co-workers that Baby Doll can’t stop him from doing what he wants. His co-works realize what they have done and refuse to help him. Leaving Blue alone in the room with Baby Doll, Blue kisses her. Please to have his way with her again. When she doesn’t respond like she had the other times he had raped her, he gets pissed. He starts to chock Baby Doll screaming at her. Suddenly the door bursts open and Dr. Gorski, the doctor and the police see what he is doing. Dragging the sick freak from the room, Blue starts to tell the whole store…about Baby Doll’s stepfather paying him to have her lobotomized to keep her quite about raping and assaulting the girls.
We flash to Sweet Pea about to depart on a bus for Fort Wayne. As she is about to get on, some officers come up and want to ask her some questions. Before she can respond, the bus driver (the same man that we saw in all of Baby Doll’s dreams) comes to her rescue. He tells the police that she just stepped off the bus to use the restroom and she has been on the bus since the beginning, believing the bus driver the police back off. Timidly, Sweet Pea boards the bus, she tells the driver she has no ticket…he says I know and tells her to get on and go get some rest. Sweet Pea…who never was insane or deserved to be in that hell hole treated the way she was…escaped…thanks to Baby Doll
I know a lot of people said this story had not plot, but it did, a very basic one. A girl losses her mother, she and her sister are rapped and abused by her stepfather, until she decided to stand up. She accidently kills her sister, He stepfather bribes an orderly to forge paperwork to have the girl lobotomized so he can keep the family money. The girl, in order to escape reality (living in an insane asylum) creates two alternate reality…working in a brothel…but that reality really suxs…being turned out by a pimp in a whore house…so she creates a fantasy within a reality to deal with everything going on in her life.
I actually enjoyed it and I am very glad that I watched it. I am sorry that it took me so long to see it. It was a complex movie, with 3 different stories going on, but worth it. The CGI was truly amazing and those were some bad ass…kick ass chicks!!