Anxious about his future after high school, a 19 year old Italian American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham
Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Donna Pescow.
Lester Wilson ... stager: musical numbers
Lorraine Fields ... assistant choreographer
Jo-Jo Smith ... dance consultant
Deney Terrio ... dance instructor (uncredited)
Watched on AmazonPrime.
18 songs in the Soundtracks. None performed onscreen, but many are danced.
I don't like it, but I respect this film, especially as an historical document. Disco was huge, and JT does dance reasonably well. Certainly well enough that plenty of people wanted to dance as well as he does.
I don't remember that JT wants to win the dance contest so he can leave home. I think he mostly wanted the glory and some extra cash. I think the synopsis writer is looking ahead to the sequel, since this film ENDS with JT wanting to move out.
There are worse forms of popular music than disco. The problem at the time was that it was pervasive, and so shallow.
This film is not shallow at all. In fact, my major complaint is that the people are all so desperate, so low in self esteem that they either let bad things happen to them, or invite bad things. We get a "consensual" rape, an "accidental" suicide (by playing on a bridge), a revenge ambush that probably had the wrong target. And I could go on. Hopelessness, thrill seeking, love/approval seeking, booze/drugs all combine to make a "culture".
I guess the good news is JT does want to get away from that lifestyle in the end. I just wonder if he has the thinking skills to overcome his upbringing and instincts/habits/values. I don't remember the sequel, but I suspect I'll find out more in '83.
My rating numbers are weird. 6+ tends to mean it's not great, but I like it, want to see it again. 7- here means I recommend it, but don't really like it. So I'm giving it a "higher" rating because I don't want to see it again? What a mess.
distr. Paramount, dir. Badham; 7-
