Let’s file this under movies you don’t need to see or add to your Netflix queue anytime soon. I had high hopes for this one as I can admit without shame or irony that I have a soft spot for the “dance movie”. Yes, they are silly, campy, plotless long form music videos but cheesy choreography, dramatic costumes and stories of people fighting tooth and nail to become stars get me everytime*. Whew, that was cathartic. So what’s not to like about Staying Alive? Even for a dance movie the plot was pretty weak.
Let me sum it up: Travolta returns as Tony Manero (see: Saturday Night Fever), it’s years later and he’s traded in the white suit for the bright lights of Broadway. We learn this through many montages on Tony teaching dance and auditioning with his bestie with benefits Jackie. One night at a performance he sees Cynthia (Finola Hughes), a saucy English dancer and he is in lurve. A little hostile small talk and moments later they are in the bone-zone. The problem: he’s all lovey dovey and she’s all meh. This rejection leads to the everpresent sexual dance tension (the best kind!) and they have to work through it to perform in a production called Satan’s Alley on Broadway at a theater called… Broadway. Big Finish, Applause (and tears from Mama Manero), Curtains, And scene!
So what did I love about this film? Travolta and his countless headbands take no prisoners on the dance floor. The guy fuckin goes for it!? I wouldn’t be surprised if his jazz hands were blistered throughout filming; And the scraps of fabric excuse for a costume that they put him in for Satan’s Alley, amazing. Secondly, director Sly Stallone has no shame in the amount of overlay montages he uses. And mostly I love the dare I say inspirational anthem Far From Over by Frank Stallone, who coincidentally also has a small role in the film (Nepotism much Sly?). Those opening keyboard bits!? An instrumental bridge!? Damn, I just got chills.
*Do yourself a favor and see STEP-UP 3-D, I’m not kidding. It’s hilarious/amazing!
