Sunday, June 8, 2014

Teen Steam! Teenaged Alyssa Milano works out!

Here's an old review I wrote about Alyssa Milano's laughable Teen Steam workout video.  Posting it here so it doesn't disappear…  Did you know Alyssa used to be a pop star in Japan?  I like her better as an actress.

A teenaged Alyssa Milano works out...

 Dec 14, 2009 (Updated Dec 17, 2009)
Review by   
Rated a Very Helpful Review
  • User Rating:OK

  • Action Factor: 
  • Special Effects: 
  • Suspense: 

Pros:For some people, it's good for a laugh.

Cons:Horribly dated. Cheesy. Boring, unless you find Alyssa and her friends sexy.

The Bottom Line:This video is only useful for people who have a prurient interest in Alyssa Milano's career.  If you want to see her in spandex spreading her legs, you're in luck.

Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.

Ah 1988... What a year that was for people born in 1972. Our birth year may be the one and only thing Alyssa Milano and I have in common, besides being female. As a kid, I used to love watching her on Who's The Boss, an ABC sitcom in which she played Tony Danza's daughter, Samantha. And, of course, I'd seen her play Arnold Schwarzenegger's daughter in the 1985 film, Commando. Back in 1988, all the girls admired her and a lot of the hormonally crazed boys wanted to do her. Naturally, that meant she should put out an exercise video. Perhaps that's how Teen Steam, starring Alyssa Milano, produced by her mom, Lin Milano, and featuring music by her dad, Tom Milano, came to be.

I will be honest. Back in 1988, when this video was selling via television ads, I wasn't the slightest bit interested in it... not even for the "stylish" Teen Steam digital watch that was thrown in to sweeten the sale. All I remember was seeing Alyssa Milano on those ads, dressed in a spandex shirt and torn up jeans, hawking her exercise/dance video and singing a very annoying but catchy theme song. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I finally ended up getting the chance to watch the thing. And now, some enterprising soul has posted the whole video in its entirety on YouTube for the whole world to see.

The video

Teen Steam is definitely a low budget affair. Currently only available on VHS, it's now out of print. Used copies are available on Amazon.com. Judging by some of the comments left by reviewers on that site, I'm guessing that this video might have been meant for teenaged girls, but actually appeals more to adult men. It runs for 30 minutes and is not rated.

The "plot"

Okay... actually, Teen Steam doesn't have much of a plot. Basically, the video starts off showing Alyssa in her bedroom, dressed in spandex biker shorts and a tight fitting white tank top that ends just below her budding bosom. She's listening to her answering machine and gets a message from a girl named Tiffanie (Tiffanie Poston) who claims she's having a major problem and asks Alyssa to call her back. Then the phone rings and it's a girl named Michelle (Michelle Simms), who evidently tells Alyssa that she's also heard from Tiffanie, but Michelle's problem is even worse than their mutual friend's. Alyssa, obviously the most level headed one in this group, invites them both over to her house so they can "work it out" together. Given that this video is a "workout" video, I guess that was sort of a lame play on words. On the other hand, maybe it was an unintentional play on words.

Alyssa heads over to her "hi-fi" stereo and puts in what looks like a mix tape. She presses play and suddenly the room starts to pulsate with some 80s era techno dance music. Alyssa says forlornly, "Another one of those days. I can feel the steam rising." Suddenly, she's joined by Michelle who complains that she can't go out that weekend because she has to babysit her little brother. Then Tiffanie gripes about being grounded for bringing home a D on her report card.

Alyssa turns to the camera and says she likes to work out the stress by working out. Then she rattles off an obviously scripted spiel about how warming up is the most important part of the workout. The three girls start to work out to the increasingly lame techno music as Alyssa directs them, gamely trying to sound just like a pro.

I'm not a horny teenaged guy, so I don't get into watching Alyssa Milano work out. I suppose I might have gotten into watching this if, as a teen, I really looked up to Alyssa Milano. But she's my age, so I didn't see her as a role model back when this video was on the market.

The girls do some obligatory chit chatting as they do stretches and basic dance moves to a soundtrack that sounds like it was inspired by the jungle. I don't really get the feeling that these girls are friends in real life, but they look nice enough on camera. Speaking of the camera, it pans around to show Alyssa's face as she sweats and gyrates to the music. Just when I think it can't get any cheesier, Alyssa and her buddies start to rap sort of half-heartedly. Afterwards, Alyssa giggles and says the next exercise is hard to explain, so we should "follow her".

Alyssa then leads her buddies in floor exercises. She claims she's already done her exercises for the day, so she'll just play coach. Alyssa sits between the two girls and counts, offering constructive criticism every so often. It's at this point that the music threatens to overtake the girls' chattering. Between the music and the constant giggling, it's hard to make everything out. Although Alyssa does a good job of keeping things moving, she's not very convincing as an exercise leader. But I get the feeling that most of the people who would seriously want to watch this won't care about that. 

When the floor exercises are over, Alyssa joins her buddies in stretches. She begins with an exercise she calls "pretzel thingies". Then she tells her audience that if they still have energy left, they can "dance it out" with her and her friends. She faces the camera and reassures viewers that the steps are easy and they probably do them all the time when they're dancing with their friends. Then she tells them if they get lost, they can either rewind the tape or come up with their own steps. Finally, she offers a half-hearted encouragement, saying "Let's do it!" as she walks through her bedroom mirror. Real helpful, Alyssa!

The next part of the video is the dance segment. As Alyssa walks through her mirror, she ends up in what looks like a dark alley. She's dressed in ripped acid washed jeans, high tops, a pink spandex shirt that shows off her midriff, and a jean jacket. She's joined by a bunch of dancers who gyrate to the cheesy electronic music, but Alyssa's workout buddies are nowhere to be found. This part of the video is sort of set up like a music video, complete with a loosely told story. It's really pretty hokey. Alyssa Milano isn't the best dancer in the world. In fact, she sort of emulates Tiffany's "hand jive" moves that were kind of popular back in the day. But I'm guessing that most people who would really want to watch this video won't care about that. 

When Alyssa's done dancing, she walks back through her mirror, once again dressed in her biker shorts and tiny tank top. Suddenly, we see Alyssa's friends again. They appear to be doing exercises in fast forward. Alyssa says "Oops" then snaps her fingers. The friends act as if they were stuck in some kind of time warp. At this point, Alyssa does something truly cringeworthy. She appears to try to emulate Dana Carvey's Church Lady as she sneers, "Well... wasn't that effect... special?" It's enough to make you want to jump out of your skin.

At this point, we've seen Alyssa work out, play exercise coach, and dance. Now it's time to hear her sing. That's right, folks. Alyssa Milano sings too. Apparently, she had a number of hits in Japan back in the day. She walks over to her tape deck and turns over the cassette. I'm suddenly surprised that she doesn't have a machine with auto-reverse. I would think with the way her career was going in the 1980s, she could have afforded it.

The punchy electronic theme song to the video starts and suddenly Alyssa's in the recording studio, dressed in her ripped jeans get up. Holding an earphone to her ear, Alyssa starts to sing the following prize worthy lyrics:

"My parents want an angel, my teachers want a brain, my friends all want to party and it's driving me insane"

She looks like even she thinks the song is stupid, but ever the professional, she sells it as best she can. The lyrics to this song are pretty inane and seem inappropriate for a girl Alyssa's age, but she has a passable singing voice and the melody is catchy enough. If you're not careful, it'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. After about three minutes of this, the credits mercifully start to roll, the irritating theme song playing all the while.

Overall

I don't think I would have liked this video when I was a teenager. I will admit it's kind of fun to watch it 21 years later, but only as a lark. To be honest, it's not a very interesting video and Alyssa doesn't seem that invested in it. I got the feeling that she was doing it just for the money. Come to think of it, she probably was.

That being said, I will comment that this video seems to be popular among men, especially those who admired Alyssa Milano when she was a teenager. She was a very good looking girl and has blossomed into an attractive woman. I'm sure this exercise video was meant for adolescent girls, but I think it's more appealing to men... and that makes me wonder what the hell her parents were thinking when they got involved with this project! In fact, I also wonder why Alyssa Milano needed to do an exercise video. She hasn't seemed to have gone through that cursed transition to adulthood that a lot of childhood actors do. I don't think she ever had an ugly duckling phase.

Anyway... I don't think I'd recommend this video to anyone who plans to take it seriously. It's fun to watch for nostalgic purposes and, judging from some of the comments on YouTube and Amazon, some people also watch it for sexual purposes... but remember, Alyssa was only 15 years old when this video was made. Tsk tsk tsk...

Recommend this product? No








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