Biel Hits All the Right Notes

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2013)

Flashdance (1983)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A tough Pittsburgh girl (Jennifer Beals) works as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night so that she can save up enough money to try and get into a ballet school, which is her dream. The young woman has hopes and dreams for the future but she feels that her background might keep her out of such a high class school. It's easy to see why FLASHDANCE was such a hit when it was released as it has the early 80's written all over it. Director Adrian Lyne adds some style and flash to the picture but the screenplay is pretty much full of clichés and is way too predictable from start to finish. With that said, Lyne at least helps keep the film moving at a good pace thanks to the style he adds to everything. The film at least offers up some great cinematography and there's no doubt that the director does a nice job during the dance sequences. The editing and pacing to the sequences bring out the style and help make them quite memorable. Another benefit to the film is the performance from Beals who is quite believable int he role. I thought she perfectly nailed the part both physically as well as mentally. I must admit that during the final act I was really turned off by the character herself but at the same time Beals really made you believe and feel for this person. I think this is where the screenplay does something right in the fact that the character is well detailed. What I didn't care about was the rather hockey love story with her boss, the predictable relationship with the elderly woman and the preaching to her friend subplot. There's quite a bit going on in this film and a lot of it is just one giant cliché and it's way too predictable for its own good. I'm certainly not expecting Bergman out of a mainstream flick but a little drama would have been nice. Still, there's no question that the film has its appeal and is worth watching.