Ryan and the film overall is good.

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2001)

First off I would like to mention that I wasn't born until many years after 54 closed its doors. So, I don't really have anything to compare the film to. But despite of not knowing about the real club, I enjoyed the movie very much.
Many people criticize '54' saying that it did a terrible job of depicting the actual club scene while others commend it for bringing the New York happening spot to life. All I know is that I love anything 60s and 70s so I obviously liked this film. The clothes are good, the music is better than today's and Studio 54 looked like THE place to be.
The story line following a New Jersey nobody seems pretty simple. He hits New York, visits the club and in no time is the bartender. I thought that it was an excellent choice in casting Ryan Phillippe in the role of Shane O'Shea.
Phillippe's role doesn't look like it needed a whole lot of work put into because once again, it is a simple picture of a young man set out to make something of himself. But he does his best nonetheless. O'Shea was created well. Another young actor I particularly like is Breckin Meyer. He did a very good acting job but there was something wrong with his character. Greg seemed as if he had a purpose there in the beginning but after a while he slowly moved into the darkness and just became someone who hooked Shane up with a place to stay. Salma Hayek seems to be a popular name now days. I must say that I'm not too interested in seeing her anything. I've seen her in one or two movies before seeing her in '54' and I still don't get why everybody likes her. Not good acting on her part. Neve Campbell who is definitely not one of my favorite actresses plays a minor role in this film but they make it seem like she's in the lead. I won't comment too much on her since she once again chose a bad character to act out. And Mike Myers who plays the club owner, Steve Rubell, probably does the best next to Ryan Phillippe. It's not that Myers is such a terrific actor, it's just that he didn't have any competition (sorry Breckin). But still he played out the role his best. The cast was pretty good overall.
I thought that the re-creation of Studio 54 was very good. Again, I didn't know the real one but it looked so fantastic in there. Lights, dancing, music, it seemed as if the people had it made. The score for the movie wasn't anything too too great. The music was good, don't get me wrong, but I've heard better.
So, the story line following O'Shea was good. The acting was mixed with some good some bad. The writing was decent and the script as a whole was one of the better ones. See this even if you aren't familiar with the club itself. '54' gives a pretty good idea of what went on and how it finally came to an end.