Trailer—Staying Alive

Staying Alive_720p(480P)

source: Staying Alive

Staying Alive

In this sequel to Saturday Night Fever, we find Tony (Travolta) struggling to make it as a dancer on Broadway. He does get his break, and now he is forced to juggle two women, one sweet and nice, the other cold, but who could make his career. It is somewhat obvious that Travolta was lacking in film roles during this period, because most people would have to be forced to do a movie like this. All the good supporting characters from the original are gone and the new ones are one-dimensional and boring. The music is laughable and the Broadway "numbers" that Travolta and Hughes perform in are pure schlock. This movie's biggest problem is that it was made too late into the 80s. The era of the first movie was over, so the story plays like an obituary. It is not awful, just boring and tiresome to watch. Stick with Saturday Night Fever, and simply pretend there is no sequel.

I love this movie. I grew up dancing in my basement to this soundtrack. John Travolta always a genius and Cynthia Rhodes is brilliant. I think it is best to not compare it to Saturday Night Fever. Saturday Night Fever is in a league of its own and I do think Mr. Stallone was not trying to recreate the original. On its own it is a fantastic movie!! Killer soundtrack and amazing dancing!! The best scenes in my opinion, are the opening audition scene, that is some serious dancing from Travolta, as well as the last scene of Satan's Alley-"Jump Damn it!!" What more can you ask for???

I would give Staying Alive 1 star for actual goodness, and 10 stars for being in that rare category of movie that is so awful it's great. I will say that John Travolta is good dancer and his character is actually rather well portrayed here. But the film itself: ZOMG. The dance sequences are cheesy as hell. I have almost hurt myself from laughing so hard. It's like everyone in the movie lives in a world where cruise ship shows are considered the apex of entertainment. The script is a knock off of a knock off of a knock off of 42nd Street, with obvious rip-offs of All That Jazz. The choreographer character is straight out of the book of Hollywood clichés. The love triangle is as flimsy and transparent as used Saran wrap. The songs are all ridiculously over-earnest, especially the echo-laden 'Dance Close to the Fire' sequence. But I gotta say: watching this is pure joy. Pure 'oh my god I can't believe I'm watching this' guilty pleasure joy.

The best thing to be said for Staying Alive is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. This is appropriate because the entire opus is a true parody of itself. It is also a wonderful time capsule of the early 80's and egos gone amok. Given his performance here, Travolta should have played the Tom Hanks role in Bonfire of the Vanities. He is much less personally pained by the total absence of a script.

70's and 80's teen films like this one depend almost entirely on their energy and sincerity to carry the day. "Staying Alive" has neither, and it's about as boring as it gets. Shallow, empty-headed male dancer goes for shallow, empty-headed female dancer, jilting his shallow, empty-headed female dancer girlfriend. Lots of overblown ego, bad music, silly strutting and shots of scantily covered male and female body parts ensue. The love triangle plods on awhile (some scenes, like where Travolta asks his girlfriend if she'll take him back, are truly painful). Eventually (and mercifully) the film ends, and you're virtually guaranteed to be left feeling shallow and empty-headed for having sat through it. Don't you have anything better to do? Yeah, me neither. 2/10.

Not good, but not as bad as it is made out to be. Plot is thin, but the behind-the-scenes look at a Broadway dance show is interesting. Far too much time is spent on the actual show though, making you think that the whole movie may as well have been one big recording of a dance show. Music is kind of cheesy, specially the music in the Broadway production. Acting is so-so. Cynthia Rhodes gives probably the only convincing performance. John Travolta is his usual one-dimensional self and Finola Hughes is irritating.