"Tilt" is the name of the heroine of this movie, a teen girl who happens to be a pinball phenom. Brooke Shields is the titular character. But, for some reason, we have to wait more than 16 minutes for her to arrive, because the story starts with two losers who try to cheat a pinball champ/bookmaker (played by Charles Durning) so they can get the money to launch one of their careers as a Country/Western singer in, of all places, Los Angeles. Who wants to see a cheater succeed, when that's all we know about them in the first moments of the film? And who believes that someone who wanted to be a country crooner would go to LA and not Nashville?
Little Ms. Shields still looks like a "Pretty Baby" in this role, avoiding most things to do with her parents and siblings, skipping out on school, hitching rides with truckers and suggesting a manage a trois along the way. It's all part of her "street tough" persona that apparently goes with being the best at the Silverball.
In the world of "Tilt," betting on pinball is apparently as common as going to a casino, as people everywhere these characters go are wagering on games, based on their flipper expertise. Long time stand up comic Gary Mule Deer is one of Tilt's early victims and provides some of the most amusing moments in the entire film.
But the story is bogged down with those two doods, the wannabe acoustic guitarist and his loudmouth wannabe manager. Never mind that they transport a minor across state lines, or what the penalty for that is. They can't succeed in show biz, and they can't succeed in pinball, or even cheating at pinball, so they might as well exploit a girl with the talent they simply don't have.
As horrific as all that is, what little charm this film might have held drains, every time either of these two knuckleheads are on the screen, and that's most of the movie.
Little Ms. Shields still looks like a "Pretty Baby" in this role, avoiding most things to do with her parents and siblings, skipping out on school, hitching rides with truckers and suggesting a manage a trois along the way. It's all part of her "street tough" persona that apparently goes with being the best at the Silverball.
In the world of "Tilt," betting on pinball is apparently as common as going to a casino, as people everywhere these characters go are wagering on games, based on their flipper expertise. Long time stand up comic Gary Mule Deer is one of Tilt's early victims and provides some of the most amusing moments in the entire film.
But the story is bogged down with those two doods, the wannabe acoustic guitarist and his loudmouth wannabe manager. Never mind that they transport a minor across state lines, or what the penalty for that is. They can't succeed in show biz, and they can't succeed in pinball, or even cheating at pinball, so they might as well exploit a girl with the talent they simply don't have.
As horrific as all that is, what little charm this film might have held drains, every time either of these two knuckleheads are on the screen, and that's most of the movie.