Starring Jeff Goldblum, Donna Summer, Debra Winger, and Ray Vitte
Directed by Robert Klane
Music and Lyrics by various
The phenomenal success of Saturday Night Fever sent the studios looking for any way to capitalize on this new music fad. This was the first one out of the gate after Fever, and as such, is probably the most emblematic. Summer was already associated with disco, having released the hit singles "I Remember Yesterday" and "Love to Love You Baby." She and the R&B group the Commodores were brought in to anchor this story of one Friday night at a popular LA dance club. Is it worthy of the dance floor, or should it be booted out? Let's begin with music that's so catchy, even the Columbia Torch lady gets down with the beat, and find out...
The Story: The wildly popular dance club The Zoo is ready for business. Its owner Tony DiMarco (Goldblum) is pushing its big midnight dance contest, with the Commodores singing live. Everybody comes to the Zoo, from horny teenage boys looking for their first score to hopeful teen girls who need to earn money for tickets to a KISS concert. Uptight Sue and Dave come for their fifth wedding anniversary. Tony falls for Sue, and Dave eventually lets his hair down with drugged-out regular Jackie (Mews Small).
Garment worker Marv (Chick Vennera) teaches shy Ken (John Friedrich) how to dance. Sweet Jennifer (Winger) is new in town. Her friend Maddy brings her to the disco in the hope that she'll meet a cute guy, but she vetoes every one she's interested in. Singer Nicole Sims (Summer) just wants a chance to perform for DJ Bobby Speed (Vitte). She may get her wish when the Commodores' roadie Malcolm Floyd (DeWayne Jessie) can't convince the cops that the instruments he's delivering aren't stolen property.
The Song and Dance: Obviously, the song and dance are the thing here. This isn't going for story, but for atmosphere. Like Fever, it's only interest is in capturing the real mood of a certain time and place, and it does that in spades. This is another one where you really get the feel for the era of platform heels, mirror balls, and people who come to mix, mingle, and strut their stuff. The movie, like the people dancing the night away, isn't trying to win any awards. It's not even going for tough drama. Like several of its characters, all it wants to do is let its hair done and have fun. Frankly, the nightclub, with it's elaborate glittering interior, is more of a character than any of the actual characters besides Summer and maybe Goldblum.
Favorite Number: We open with the title song under a montage of high school students dashing home and others leaving work in order to get to the Zoo on Friday night. Marv gets a nifty instrumental number, "Leatherman's Theme," when he's bouncing around on the top of cars as he teaches Ken how to dance. Floyd gets his own number, "Floyd's Theme," as he shows everyone what he can do on the drums. We also get the big finale, as everyone dances to the Commodores' "Too Hot ta Trot" and we see who gets eliminated from the contest and who makes it to the end.
The big numbers here both belong to Summer. When she finally manages to make it onstage, she belts out the Oscar-winning "Last Dance"...and it's a magical moment as everyone swirls in the lights, and she really gets into the song. Her other number, "With Your Love" is almost as good.
Trivia: This was filmed at a real nightclub, Osko's, in Los Angeles. It's since been demolished.
First major role for Debra Winger, only big screen appearance of the Commodores, and only acting role in a non-documentary for Donna Summer.
What I Don't Like: No wonder critics have been hard on this movie for years. The movie bounces from one group of characters to another with little rhyme or reason. It's so interested in showing you the life of every single darn person in that club, you don't get to know any of them that well...and the ones that you do aren't the most pleasant people except for maybe Summer. The story is non-existent, the dialogue stiff and often silly. There's also the scenes with several people taking recreational drugs in a PG movie. This was a big part of the disco scene in 1978, but it may offend some folks nowadays.
The Big Finale: For all the problems, I still ended up enjoying the atmosphere and some great music. Recommended mostly for huge fans of Summer, The Commodores, or those who either remember or are interested in learning more about the disco scene of the late 70's.
Home Media: The DVD is a little pricey; you may be better off looking for it on streaming. It's currently free at YouTube with commercials.
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