Viewed in
2007
Premise
John Travolta dances disco in this urban drama.
Who should watch
Americans from the 1970's?
Thoughts
Unfortunately, I did not get why this movie was considered so great. We have been told by the media that it was all about the dancing and disco. As usual, I was disappointed that the movie was not what it was advertised.
There were some great stuff. John Travolta had a breakout performance with his poofy hair, slick moves and tight pants. I enjoyed all the awesome disco dancing, music and score.
However, as a movie, it was a weird, gritty mix of 'West Side Story' and 'Boyz N the Hood'. It made full use of the R rating. Within it were a lot of dark themes about poverty, sex, drugs, violence, intolerance and frustrated youths. The juxtaposition of glarmorous dancing with gritty scenes of inner city life felt incongruous.
Maybe it was the point of the filmmakers, that life is beautiful and ugly. But it did not work for me. Perhaps the message was that dancing was a form of release for frustrated youths (just like 'Rize'). But all I saw was that it was used as a way to establish a superficial social pecking order and getting laid. Instead of feeling nostalgic, I felt sad for these characters.
What I would change
Not sure. I would have changed the hype.
