Review of Staying Alive (1983) by Roman T — 30 Nov 2011

Yes! The music in this film is uniformly awful! I will agree. (Except for "Stayin' Alive", which is always fun.) And some of the dancing is questionable.

However, I disagree with most of the reviewers who claim that this movie was pointless, horribly written, badly acted, etc. It was none of those. Actually it was very true to the spirit of "Saturday Night Fever" and the character of Tony Manero in particular. In "Saturday" Tony met a mature woman and started to grow up. In this film he continues to grow, gets slapped around by life a little, and even falls in love.

I saw this movie in the theater when it was released and found it electrifying. I just watched it again this evening and much of the excitement I had at the first viewing is still there. Travolta is as magnetic as ever, Cynthia Rhodes is lovely and beautiful, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the bewitching Finola Hughes and could absolutely understand (in 1983 and today) why Tony Manero could risk the love of his life for even one night with her.

Also: the movie captures the spirit of the theater in ways that few movies can. It shows the hard work, sweat, and the incredibly beautiful bodies and faces of the stage.