Saturday Night Fever


Okay, so I had the chance to watch this film again over the Memorial day week-end, and realized that I still like this movie a lot. Saturday Night Fever came out in 1977, and it single handedly gave disco a fad that was really on it's way out a reprieve. John Badham the director of the film was once quoted as saying that "we were making a small film about a fad that was slowly dying out", and he was right. Saturday Night Fever was written by Norman Wexler, but was based on an article written in a magazine entitled: "Tribal Rights of the New Saturday Night". The movie has gained legendary status through Travolta's performance on and off the dance floor. To simple write up Saturday Night Fever as just another dance movie would be doing it a big disservice. There is actually a story here, and it's about Travolta's character Tony Manero.

Saturday Night Fever is about a young man and his confusion and frustration about living a life he's not happy with. Dancing at the local discotheque is all that Tony has to make himself feel special and wanted, as he doesn't get it from his family. The arrival of Stephanie, an older woman who is just as good a dancer as he is, lights a fire inside Tony and he finally sees his life as having a purpose. But things don't turn out as he had envisioned.*

That in a nut shell is the plot of the entire movie, and the movie has some strong performances from JohnTravolta as Tony Manero, Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie, Barry Miller as Bobby C. and Donna Pescow as Annette. All this was done on a limited budget & a tight shooting schedule. Maybe that's why I hold it up as being a true American classic. The feel of the film and the look of the film are quite authentic, and this is in no small way due to Badham's crew. Having grown up during this time it brings a bit of nostalgia to viewers who lived in this era. I can remember the "new" discotheque opening up in the neighborhood, and the crowds it drew in for a very short time. Between the opening of Saturday Night Fever, and the close of the 70's the scene changed. Disco had a backlash, and it gave birth to the punk movement with such artists like the Ramones, and Blondie leading the way. But for a brief time Saturday Night Fever had it's moment. Seeing it again reminded me that the film should be considered more then a phenomenon, but an actual good film about relationships, and one having a purpose in life, and not just being aimless and without direction. See it again, and see for yourself how good this film really is. You won't regret it.

*Part of review written by from IMDB: Devyalento Latchford Deschanel from London, England

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

Image
When one has children, and they're home on winter break one needs to do something that the kids like to do. One solution was to take them to the movies. For entertainment for children this movie hits all the right buttons. For me it was a bit more slapstick then I cared for, but the kids loved it. The plot is lame, and the story is weak, but that's not the point in this movie. It's all about the site gags, and the funny situations our three main characters get into. Even I at times enjoyed the movie. Especially when I heard my two boys laugh at the antics on the screen. If you have little ones you can't miss with this. I even heard the wife laugh a couple of times at some jokes, so it does appeal to a wide variety of people. Even I wasn't immune to the sophomore jokes ad antics. It's fun for the family, and the kids will like it too. So I won't go into detail about the movie because there isn't much to say about the film. It's meant to be a distrac
Read more

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)

Image
I know, I know.  Long time, but I'm back and the first movie I review is a kids film.  Having children of my own they have grown up with Alvin, Theodore and Simon, so when this film hit the theaters you know I had to go. This is the third.  Yes the third film in the series of the chipmunk movies.  Each one is cute and interesting, but they are defiantly geared to the children.  In this film Dave and the boys along with the chipettes go on cruise.   Yes you remember them from the second movie don't you?  Anyhow the chipmunks get shipwrecked on an island after disobeying Dave ( Jason Lee ).  Dave and Uncle Ian ( David Cross ) also get shipwrecked on an island, and need to find the chipmunks.  That is of course if this is the same island as where the chipmunks are, and if you're thinking it isn't then I have a bridge to sell to you in Brooklyn. The movie is a bit of slapstick, and moral lesson for the kids.  Sure we laugh when the chipmunks cause havoc on the cruis
Read more

Megan (2022)

Image
The film Megan is a sci-fi/horror film with a lot of dark humor, which makes the movie so interesting to watch.  I had to say this was not on my radar to see.  I thought maybe one day on cable or streaming, but my youngest wanted to see it and so I was game.  I'm glad I did see this and I was pleasantly surprised how good it was.  I should also say seeing this at he movies was a treat.  The direction, the cinematography, and the whole feel of the film gave me an appreciation of this film that I would not have gotten otherwise. To label this a horror film would be a mistake.  It has horror elements in it but it's science fiction more than anything else with a dash of horror.  I do like that the film takes the old Frankenstein myth and updates it to the digital era.  I think because of this the film is a better for it.  The graphic violence is played off screen which works.  If you're a gore hound you will be disappointed, but it does not subtract from the film plot.  In fact
Read more