Not completely feeling it

Rating: 5/10 (4 July 2017)

Love musicals. Love dramas. Love a lot of films from the 80s, despite being aware of some of my friends who consider it one of the weaker decades for film. While there are certainly far worse musicals, there are also far better. 'Flashdance' is not without its moments but overall left me not completely feeling it.
Where 'Flashdance' is most successful is in the soundtrack and dancing. The soundtrack is toe-tappingly infectious and is infused with a lot of energy. This is particularly so with "What a Feeling", wonderfully sung by Irene Cara, which won a worthy Oscar and became an iconic hit of the 80s. "Maniac" is a close second. The dance sequences are clearly strenuous, while also being high-octane in energy and having surprising grace.
That is not to say that it doesn't have other good things elsewhere. Adrian Lynne directs very well, capturing perfectly the post-disco visual mood and general atmosphere of the time. 'Flashdance' looks good too, being cleverly shot and atmospherically lit and designed.
However, the acting is really not great. Jennifer Beals seemed too lightweight for a pretty lewd character, and when showing a more aggressive, harder side it comes over as annoying and like she was uncomfortable doing it. She does fare better than Michael Nouri, whose character is obnoxious, bland and clichéd, all of those accentuated in Nouri's acting. If the rest of the cast are not being mentioned, it is because their contributions were not memorable.
'Flashdance's' script is a complete mess. Cliché-ridden, cheesy and often tasteless. The story is vastly overshadowed by the film's style, music and dancing, it is barely existent and what there is pretty dull and preposterous, too often the opposite of feel-good or charming while the sordid-ness also feels over the top. Nice message, if not exactly new, but the very frothy and severely underdeveloped romance belongs somewhere else entirely.
Overall, has good points but am not completely feeling it. 5/10 Bethany Cox