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STAYING ALIVE
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars:
John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround, French Dolby Stereo
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Studio: Paramount
Features: None
Length: 96 Minutes
Release Date: October 8, 2002
“DO
YOU KNOW WHAT I WANNA DO?”
“What?”
“Strut.”
Film
*1/2
Saturday Night Fever was one of the greatest films to emerge from the
70s. It captured a unique era, and it spawned the very revolution it was
reflecting in disco. It also introduced the world to the charismatic John
Travolta, for which I will always be grateful to the movie for. But was this
influential film in desperation of a sequel? I never did think so. Staying
Alive features Travolta, in probably the best physical shape he’s ever
been in, reprising his signature role as Tony Manero. Although in this entry,
Manero is dancing to the sound of a different beat, which alone is one of the
film’s weaknesses.
Picking up six years after the events in Fever, the story is about
how Tony aspires to make it on the Broadway scene. He has moved out of his
parents’ house in Brooklyn, and now resides in a Manhattan hotel, where he
works as both a waiter and as a dance instructor. He finds himself caught
between two women, Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes), a fellow dancer who has waited long
enough for Tony to come to his senses, and the stuck up Laura (Finola Hughes),
whose a beauty of a dancer and a woman, though seems to be leading Tony on, even
though they do engage in a fast one night stand.
The movie, directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, rids all of the
edge and realism that made Fever a classic and substitutes it with a
formulaic plotline that grows predictable by the minute. We know how the story
will end up. We know which girl Tony will end up with pretty much at first
glance. But another problem is that there is no feeling to any of the drama, as
many of the scenes in between the dance numbers feel nothing short of forced.
And while the climatic dance show, dubbed Satan’s Alley, is something
of a lavish production, it doesn’t have the raw energy of a single dance
sequence from its predecessor.
In short, Staying Alive is a sequel that was never necessary in the
first place. The first film is such a masterpiece of its time and place in the
70s that a contuation of its lead character in the early 80s isn’t exactly
worth getting involved in. The overall best moment in the film is the final
shot, which has Tony reprising his famous walk from the beginning of Saturday
Night Fever.
BONUS TRIVIA: Look closely and you’ll spot
Sly Stallone himself as the guy Travolta bumps into while walking. Sly’s
brother Frank, who sings the movie’s theme song “Far From Over”, appears
as a nightclub singer.
Video
**
Another victim of a
mediocre 80s movie transfer to coincide with the releases of Footloose
and Flashdance. For starters, I have never seen the opening Paramount
logo in such weak shape. The anamorphic picture tries to remain as sharp as it
can be, but it suffers from too much softness somewhat weak colors. Overall, the
disc can’t seem to remain as sharp as its producers would’ve intended.
Audio
***
There is hardly a
moment when Staying Alive isn’t
alive with music in its background, and Paramount’s lively 5.1 mix does a much
impressive job of making the film’s music come to life. Frank Stallone’s
song, “Far From Over” never sounded more lively and thunderous, and making
you feel as if you were back in 1983. Dialogue is for the most part clear, but
it’s the musical aspect that makes this presentation.
Features
(Zero Stars)
Nothing.
Summary: