Toys Are Not for Children

[Andrew]

Well, this was a disturbing movie.  It is also completely eclipsed by the other movie on the Something Weird double feature disc, "The Toybox."  The entire blurb on the back talks about "The Toybox," though "Toys are Not for Children" is a much better script and the cast can actually act.

Jamie lives with her verbally abusive mother.  Because of the mother's nature, she has been shut off from contact with her father since her early childhood.  What memories she has of daddy are good ones, with him spinning her around and tucking her into bed and all that.  Too bad that her social development went astray in some manner.  She now equates sexual love with her daddy.  Without him present, Jamie uses a toy soldier that he gave her as an object of "affection."

The story does get turned around due to some of the edits that cause it to be told in reverse for a while and jump around.  However, the crazy mother eventually throws her perverted daughter out.  Jamie is scooped up by Charlie, a young man she works with, and they get married.  He is excited, not only by the idea of sex, but also because he seems to truly care for the girl.  Jamie cannot bring herself to consummate the marriage.  Instead, the only thing she wants to do is watch television and play with the dolls and toys that her father gave her.  It eats away at the young guy.  Charlie finally starts going out at night, drinking and hooking up with various women.

After meeting an older and accomplished call girl (she must be about 45 or so), the young woman is sexually assaulted by the chump who is the older woman's pimp.  He starts Jamie down the freaky road that she really enjoys.  Jamie wants to play "daddy" with older men who have that fetish.  Of course, and some will see where this is going, she eventually beds her own daddy and finishes the road to ruin.

Pretty much every character in this movie has some sort of fatal character flaw, and most of them also recognize it.  Jamie is the only one who seems oblivious to her disturbing hang-up.  You do feel unclean after this one, but I am impressed that the script seemed to have a focus and the parts were all played competently by the actors and actresses involved.  The freakiness of the issues involved (more than just the "daddy" bit) will give you a couple points to laugh over.  If I ever review this, I will try to keep a running total of how many times the words "whore" and "daddy" are used.