How interesting can it be that a film that is the
epitome of the time and place (late 70s Brooklyn, the peak of Disco) has held
up perfectly for almost 50 years. Matt Barry admitted in his review, “It's one
of those films that, I imagine, must have seemed hopelessly dated in one sense
just a few years after its release. But perhaps now, separated by the distance
of time, we can better appreciate its strengths and qualities that keep
audiences coming back to it.”
The movie is about Tony Manero, a young Italian-American
living in Brooklyn, working in a hardware store, living with his parents,
played by Val Bisoglio and Julie Bovasso, and is having trouble finding himself
through the only thing that he is passionate about…dance. He is a character so
many people can relate to. With John Travolta portraying the titular role, John
Badham directing this with so much liveliness, and the soundtrack having the
hit songs of the Bee Gees really help this film being one that still tops with life.
Norman Wexler wrote the script (Barry noted, “based on "Tribal Rites of
the New Saturday Night", an article by Nik Cohn that appeared in New York
Magazine the previous year”) which is so true, and you can relate to the
difficulties that Tony is going through so he can make himself famous.
Barry admitted, “After seeing SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER on
the big screen, I was struck by just what a nicely-photographed film it is. I
think this gets lost when watching the film on TV, or even on DVD, where some
of the definition and detail is lost, but there are some moments that are
really quite stunning.” Ralf D Bode was the cinematographer and he really knew how
to film Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney together with that delicate look which
makes you feel like you’re there with them, which is excellently different with
how real the scenes are with Tony and his friends (Barry Miller, Joseph Cali,
Paul Pape, and Bruce Ornstein). He brings the same amount of energy when he
dances (like with Night Fever), which really stands out with the
polychromatic flashing lights and fog on the dance floor. Barry said, “Looking
over his filmography, I realize I have only seen a couple other films
photographed by Bode, but I do not remember anything particularly unique about
their cinematography.” Still, you got to give him credit with how memorable “Saturday
Night Fever” was, which might have been a different feeling when seeing this in
theaters than on TV.
I was already familiar with the famous shot on the
poster and the famous Dancing Again scene, but when I saw the
movie, I was thinking this was the epitome of the 70s. If you haven’t seen it,
you should see it on Pluto TV, where it is currently streaming. You will love
the way they made this film, especially the dancing.
This was a big disappointment. Roger Ebert was right
when he said in his review, “This sequel to the gutsy, electric “Saturday Night
Fever” is a slick, commercial cinematic jukebox, a series of self-contained
song-and-dance sequences that could be cut apart and played forever on MTV —
which is probably what will happen. Like “Flashdance,” it isn’t really a movie
at all, but an endless series of musical interludes between dramatic scenes
that aren’t there. It’s not even as good as “Flashdance,” but it may appeal to
the same audience; it’s a Walkman for the eyes.”
The movie’s plot is so simple to figure out. Six years
have passed since Tony looked so much at the lights of Manhattan at the end of “Saturday
Night Fever.” Now he lives in a bad Manhattan hotel, works as a waiter and a
dance instructor and dates a young dancer, played by Cynthia Rhodes, with so
much patience. He still chases women. However, he meets a British dancer,
played by Finola Hughes, who’s his match. She’s the type of girl who takes him
to bed and rejects him. Meanwhile, he gets a job as a dancer in her new show
and when her lead dancer hesitates, Tony gets the role. Any of this sound
familiar?
The movie was co-authored and directed by Sylvester
Stallone, and it’s the first bad movie he’s made. He remembers everything from
his Rocky stories, but he leaves out the heard. What’s worse, he leaves out the
characters. Ebert mentioned, “Everybody in “Staying Alive” is Identikit.” The
characters, their lives, and even the dialogue are all cliches. Ebert noted, “The
big musical climaxes are interrupted only long enough for people to shout
prepackaged emotional countercharges at each other. There is little attempt to
approximate human speech.”
Like the Rocky movies, “Staying Alive” ends with a
huge, visually impressive climax. It is so unbelievable it has to be seen to know.
It’s opening night on Broadway: Tony Manero not only dances like the lead, he
survives a production number of fire, ice, smoke, flashing lights and laser
beams, throws in an ad-libbed solo – and ends majestically by holding Finola
Hughes above his head with one arm, like a game he has hunted and killed. Ebert
said, “The musical he is allegedly starring in is something called “Satan’s
Alley,” but it’s so laughably gauche it should have been called “Springtime for
Tony.”” Stallone does so little to convince us we’re watching a real stage
production. There are camera effects the audience could never see, montages
that create impossible physical moves and – most mysterious of all – a vocal
track, despite nobody on stage is singing. This is a mess. Ebert noted, “Travolta’s
big dance number looks like a high-tech TV auto commercial that, got sick to
its stomach.”
Ebert admitted, “What I really missed in “Staying
Alive” was the sense of reality in “Saturday Night Fever” — the sense that Tony
came from someplace and was somebody particular.” There’s no old neighborhood,
no verbal arguments with his family (he apologizes to his mother for his
behavior), and no Brooklyn strangeness. Tony’s life has been made into a
backstage musical, and not a good one.
The movie has one great moment. Near the end, Tony
says, “I want to strut!” and struts across Times Square to the Bee Gees song Stayin’
Alive, no doubt a recreation to the beginning of the first movie. That could
have been the first shot of a great movie. It’s the last shot of this one.
If you saw the first movie and loved it, avoid the
sequel at all cost. There is nothing good in it at all. Travolta said everybody
secretly says they love the sequel and remember all of Hughes lines and not
his, but I don’t remember any line that was said in here. This was a perfectly
good example of a great movie that didn’t need a sequel and was just horribly
made, you could call it garbage. Never make the mistake of seeing this, like I
did when I saw it on Netflix.
Look out next week when I review another classic film
in “Dance Month.”
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