a good date night movie (you can make out between the songs)

Rating: 6/10 (13 December 2002)

I just watched "Flashdance" for the first time and it is a film so lame, inconsequential and annoyingly dumb that it actually made the comparably silly "Footloose" look like "Singing in the Rain" by comparison. Actually, I'm being too hard on "Footloose," since it actually had a plot, some interesting characters, and a point-of-view (to say nothing of a POINT), as opposed to the pointless and silly "Flashdance." which was like "Rocky" with a dance motif and female star.
I hope you don't take my "critique" the wrong way... Honestly, I don't think the movie is really all that good, but the message, and the feeling, and the spirit of this movie, are all very wonderful and infectious indeed and should NOT be discounted. It makes it a wonderful movie. It is a story of energy, of feeling and of life The story seems utterly predictable and rather contrived, and the characters are weak. The music (which I *do* remember well from that time) is still excellent, and some of the dance routines are inventive. Others were pretty bad. like the closing dance routine which is as bad a dance scene as you'll ever see in any movie. The final dance scene In "Footloose" was much better. also did you know a man was actually doing that twirly move and that Jennifer Beals didn't dance at all, actually they used about four stunt doubles). For a dance movie, Flashdance doesn't show that much dancing. Even the gorgeous Jennifer Beals (and her dance doubles doing all those dance numbers.( I wonder if she has that huge curly perm -although fashionable at 1983 - only to shadow the face of her double. ) couldn't hold my interest. As short as Flashdance was, I was looking at my watch about halfway through.
The best parts of this movie are the "music videos" and the soundtrack in the film is fantastic, it makes you the feel, the passion come alive as it drives the story and gives it a soul. It is that fantastic soundtrack that makes that, and the whole film for that matter, simply come alive. Beals is one of the few reasons to watch this movie. She is not bad at all as an actress! And she is sexy, cute and pretty. She has a very attractive smile and shows sometimes a very sexy body language. The worst parts are the dance performances which destroys the whole movie. Also the dialogs wasn't really good or interesting. Unfortunately, there are some really ungainly jokes in the film(re: 'honkies', small penises, Polish jokes, a gross lesbian joke, and a real stinker about cockroaches in hamburgers--this is funny??), but the basic outline of the picture, corny though it may be, still works a little magic.
SPOILERS, BEWARE!!! Some things I really don't like about this movie: It seems that she is the only female working at the mill. Also if a female co-worker started dating the male boss a lot of people would think she was doing it to get ahead and not cheer them on like in the movie. Why would any reasonable "male" go to a club just to see women dance in skimpy clothes. I can see that going to any regular nite-club.When she first dances to the song "maniac" and they cut to shot of her dog it looks like he is getting "excited" watching her. That scene with the traffic cop, what what that all about? Some things do confuse me about it (e.g. Jeanie asks Alex how long it took for her to get so good at dancing; Alex replies "About 25 years," isn't Alex supposed to be 18?) Also, if Alex is a welder during the day, wouldn't she be tired after a hard day's work? When she doesn't go to work for nearly a week, wouldn't she be laid off? Living in a warehouse-I can almost see it, but not quite. It doesn't seem right that she's a welder, owns a warehouse house, AND is trying to get into ballet. None of it really makes sense.
To summerize, Flashdance will never make the AFI's Top 100, but it has an infectious charm. Jennifer Beals is really only so-so in the leading role, and her leading man Michael Nouri is no better off, but it doesn't matter. What does matter here is the great music, especially that title track that may be the most inspirational show .tune since the theme from Rocky. Really, the whole film is played like a 90-minute ad for MTV! Laugh at the dopey plot and listen to the great tunes. Great film to earmark the 80s. Short on plot, but big on rock and roll and performance, especially by Beals, who excels as a welder (and semi-erotic dancer) who has dreams of ballet. I guess I'm recommending the film. I still find myself humming the title song.