Weak and Disjointed

Rating: 6/10 (20 January 2003)

The story of Steve Rubel and of Studio 54 (the famous night spot of the elite on New York's 54th Street in an old ABC TV studio) is a facinating one which encapsulates much of the atmosphere of excess which characterized that era; this movie, "54" which purports to tell that story through the eyes of Shane, one of Rubel's employees, fails miserably in its attempt. What we get instead is Reese Witherspoon's husband presented as a shiftless but handsome youth from Jersey City (a working class town directly across the Hudson River) yearning for the excitment of the "Big City" in a banal "Cinderella" tale.
Mike Myers is brilliant as Steve Rubel, the club's creator, a drug swilling homosexual who likes to surround himself with pretty boys. Enter Mr. Witherspoon's "Shane" who catches Rubel's eye while trying to gain admittance one night into the fabled lair of the famous. Through some oblique family connection Shane is introduced to Rubel, and is offered a job as a busboy. So far, so good.
At this point the film loses direction (perhaps literally) as instead of learning the secrets of what went on in the club- facinating bits about basement VIP rooms and drug pipelines only alluded to in passing, we are instead served up a lame story of Shane's attraction for a famous TV star and (Neve Campbell) who frequents the club, and an entngled relationship with Shane's fellow busboy's pretty wife (Miss Hayuk).
Out of nowhere Shane is suddenly driving a Camero with custom plates and living the high life, but inexplicably is still living in a small apartment with his two fellow employees- and by the way, how a busboy and hatcheck girl could afford a two bedroom apartment in the City is just another careless detail in this sloppy mess.
As many other have said, "Boogie Nights" does a much better job of conveying the mood and music of the period, and also tells a more interesting story of the characters involved, in frankly a very similar story.
There was a good story to be told here, but we never can get past the door.