A Dated Disco Movie

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2012)

Saturday Night Fever is a dance film directed by John Badham.It features John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance partner and would-be girlfriend. Barry Miller,Paul Pape,Bruce Ornstein,Martin Shakar,Julie Bovasso and Fran Drescher play supporting roles.
The story is conventional.Tony Manero is a Brooklyn paint-store clerk who'd give anything to break out of his dead-end existence. In life, Tony is a peasant; on the disco dance floor, he's a king. As the soundtrack plays one Bee Gees hit after another, we watch white-suited Tony strut his stuff amidst flashing lights and sweaty, undulating bodies. Tony's class aspirations are mirrored in his relationship with his dance partner, Stephanie, a secretary eager to move into the glamorous world of Manhattan.
Saturday Night Fever's huge success grew meteorically thanks to the towering popularity of its soundtrack; during the first half of 1978, when the movie's disco songs saturated the singles charts up to four at a time, it was no longer clear whether the hit movie was feeding the hit songs or the hit songs were feeding the hit movie. This crossover between music and movies set the pace for many movies to come, as it also marked the rise and fall of 1970's disco culture.There's a lot in the movie that's sad and painful, but after a few years what you remember is John Travolta on the dance floor in that classic white disco suit, and the Bee Gees on the soundtrack.Obviously,one cannot dismiss its cultural significance, which today may be part of its campy appeal.Obviously,this is dated disco movie by today's standards.