Not just Real Disco, Saturday Night Fever' is a Real Good Story'

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2005)

From the classic opening scene when a young paint store worker struts down the Brooklyn street with a bucket of latex, to the stirring BeeGees rendition of 'Staying Alive, you know that director John Badham's Saturday Night Fever' has attitude. And attitude would seem to be just what you'd need to succeed in a place like New York. It's the story of Tony Manero. An Oscar nominated performance by then teen idol John Travolta. Who was the star of the popular TV sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter' Manero, although languishing in a minimum wage job during the day, takes over the dance floor at the local disco by night. He is the king and an icon to his loudmouthed and juvenile friends. Who all seem to be on a road to nowhere. As pointed out to him by his new love interest Stephanie ( Portrayed by Karen Lynn Gorney ) The problem with this love interest is that she's not all that interested in him, Unlike his drooling groupies at the 2001 Disco. (Which was actually filmed inside the famous studio 54 ) And this causes Manero to stop and think that his life may be headed down a dead end street as well. This picture is not just you're mindless dance romp. Travolta creates a character who is totally believable. He makes you think that Manero is as crude as his idiotic friends. But it's the great way Travolta emotes and you can see on his face what's going on in his character's mind. It's still his best performance to this date. There are plenty of moral implications and concerns. Manero's brother is/was a priest, who returns home to their Italian parents to break the news to them that he's lost the faith. One of Tony's friends has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and is pressured to marry her by both sets of parents as well as his local priest. You can see just that little trace of the 1950's morality still remaining in the disco era society. Today, almost thirty years later. A single mother does not wear the same scarlet letter as she did even then. And recent revelations of child molestation in the Catholic church would probably make a family weary of being related to a priest rather than proud of the fact. But it's fun seeing the disco era as it really was instead of some cheesy imitation. If I had one problem with the film it would be with Gorney. Stephanie tells Tony and his friends that she's 'Only twenty' Yet at the time of the filming Gorney was thirty one. And she really does seem and look too old for the roll. As my father so crudely pointed out. 'You can't make a woman's ass that's thirty one look twenty.' But she can do the scenes. At one point after her and Tony meets her old boyfriend, she is reduced to tears by his jealous barbs. Gorney does fine work in this scene and you can feel the strain. Maybe that's what they were thinking when they cast her. That and the fact that she has a great Brooklyn accent. While the film has a great story with a little bit of everything. The music really is special. The soundtrack, which was dominated by the BeeGees, is the very cornerstone of the disco craze. When Tony and Stephanie ultimately dance to their 'More Than a Woman' a truly great song. To Badham's half fast half slow motion direction. The results are pure bliss. Actually the whole film is charming and fascinating, and I believe extremely underestimated. 'Saturday Night Fever' is about life. About difficult choices and conflicting voices. About growing up and having the courage to chase what you want. And it sounds and looks beautiful. Whether you like dancing or not, this movie's for everyone 10 out of a possible 10 T.H.