You can imagine the pitch - Young Guns, but with babes. It's actually not a bad idea and largely succeeds despite the weak, ill-focused script that can't seem to make up its mind whether it should be a feminist reworking of the western genre or just an old-fashioned "girls' own" adventure. The bad girls of the title are four prostitutes (Andie MacDowell, Madeleine Stowe, Drew Barrymore and Mary Stuart Masterson) who find a price on their heads when Stowe shoots a disagreeable client. On the trail of the cowgirls are a mixed bag of cowboys, including mean James Russo and manly Dermot Mulroney. The ladies handle the traditional western duties - gunplay, horseback chases etc - with aplomb and their spirited performances are enjoyable to watch, even if they fail to deliver the toughness promised by the title.

Four former harlots try to leave the wild west (Colorado, to be exact) and head north to make a better life for themselves. Unfortunately someone from Cody's past won't let it happen that easily.