Beautifully photographed and scored drama about repellent, repulsive people...

Rating: 5/10 (19 October 2007)

TV actor John Travolta shot to fame and received an Oscar nomination for his acting (and dancing) in this otherwise depressing coming-of-age story. Brooklyn kid, stifled at home and restless at work, is idolized at night when he takes over the dance-floor at the local discotheque. "Misunderstood teens" theme gets a real work-out here, with director John Badham and screenwriter Norman Wexler bending over backwards to make these trash-talking, uneducated, sex-obsessed goof-offs engaging and colorful. Wexler, who has his youthful subjects putting down everything worthwhile, seems to think he's actually saying something new and fresh (with Karen Lynn Gorney as the ambitious girl who is ultimately condescended to--she's made to look like a cynical sell-out). The disco music (mostly by the Bee Gees) is kinetic and alive, and was instrumental in making the film a box-office success. Travolta's solo dance number is also incredible, transcending the script and the surrounding phoniness. Followed by a 1983 sequel, "Staying Alive". ** from ****