Warning: Parental Advisory

By James Poniewozik

The state of pop music, 1985: the stakes are even bigger than the hair. Tipper Gore (Mariel Hemingway) and a group of Capitol wives are out to legislate against "porn rock." A music-biz lobbyist (Jason Priestley) rallies a coalition against them, including Twisted Sister's Dee Snider (as himself) and Frank Zappa (Griffin Dunne), portrayed ludicrously as a kind of chain-smoking Yoda to Priestley's yuppie acolyte. It's a rich premise, but this farce has all the subtlety of a Twisted Sister video--and about one-tenth the wit.

--By James Poniewozik