Review of 54 (1998) by Randy E — 22 Mar 2004

[size=3]In the late 1970s, New York's Studio 54 was apparently "the place to be." It was a nonstop party house filled with blaring music, gorgeous men and women, and plenty of cocaine to go around. Mark Christopher's film [i]54 [/i]aims to capture the spirit of the infamous nightclub, but it ends up being muddled by the essential trashiness of its drama and the lack of any characters we can actually care about. The movie is very similar to Paul Thomas Anderson's flawed but brilliant epic [i]Boogie Nights[/i], but it lacks Anderson's stylistic energy and his sense of how to portray broad characters without letting them seem like stereotypes. In [i]54, [/i]the story of the nightclub is told through the eyes of a handsome young man named Shane (Ryan Phillippe), who begins working at the club as a minor employee and rises to some prominence based on his looks. Comedian Mike Myers give a surprisingly effective turn as Steve Rubell, the legendary owner of the club...a gay man who only allows beautiful people to frequent Studio 54, perhaps because he himself is not particularly good-looking. While Myers is somewhat engaging as Rubell, there are times when it seems as if he is just doing an impression of the character rather than internalizing him. Meanwhile, Phillippe is stiff and unengaging in the central role...and since we see the world of 70s disco through his eyes, there is very little to identify with in [i]54[/i]. The other major characters are Julie (Neve Campbell) and Anita (Salma Hayek), two starlets who soon see their fame slip away from them. Christopher, who also co-wrote the screenplay, is never able to make [i]54 [/i]seem important enough to warrant our interest, and it is difficult to have any emotional investment in a drama that feels cloying and forced. Even the soundtrack of the movie is a disappointment...none of the energy or force of 1970s disco is conveyed. [i]54 [/i]is all glitter and no gold, and something tells me that actually being a regular at Studio 54 during its heyday would be a lot more fun than watching this film.[/size].

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[size=3](BASIC) [/size].