A poor version of "Saturday Night Fever"

Rating: Null/10 (19 October 2001)

I watched this movie because this summer I was in New York and I went to see the show "Cabaret" at Studio 54, so I wanted to see what the club was like in its 70s heyday when, according to what I'd read, it was an illicit sex and drugs den, as well as being New York's hottest nightspot. But the movie seemed very tame and watered down - it was hinted that a lot of sex went on, and that drugs were rife, but it didn't depict this very realistically. The plot centered around Shane (Ryan Phillipe), a kid from New Jersey who ends up working at 54, and gets sucked into the whole lifestyle surrounding it. Phillipe's performance was satisfactory, but by no means outstanding. In fact the only good performance was by Mike Myers as 54's owner, Steve Rubell, who comes across as a kid who never really grew up, and never wanted the party of youth to end. Myers' performance is stunning, and you totally forget he ever played Austin Powers, which is how it should be! The rest of the supporting cast was disappointingly mediocre, as was most of the movie. It seemed to lack a certain something, and the plot was very choppy - it was obvious that some storylines were developed, but then never properly concluded. Overall, I'd say if you want to see a good movie about the 70s club scene, see "Saturday Night Fever" - it's more realistic, has a better storyline, better developed characters, better acting, and last of all, better music!