Review of Xanadu (1980) by John M — 23 Aug 2011

Imagine taking all the cheese of a movie like Road House, putting it into a musical and slapping some roller skates on it. I would imagine the result would be something like Xanadu. Olivia Newton-John plays a mysterious girl who shows up to help a guy make his dreams come true.

Add some kick-ass music and that's pretty much about it. I watched this movie for one reason and one reason only. It's no secret the love I harbor for E.L.O.; they're a band that never fails to put a smile on my face, and I've been especially binging on them for the last two months, which does include the soundtrack to this movie, so I decided to give this a shot.

It's a movie that has a backpack full of flaws; it has cornball dialogue and bad acting. It has the occasional bit of awkward timing at really bad places, like the midpoint of a musical number. It has special effects that look like they were done by people who couldn't afford it.

A plethora of flaws to choose from, yes... but they're all forgivable when you look at it in the context of the tone of the film, if that makes sense. Just looking at it as an experience, there are a lot of things here that have no business working, but do for some inexplicable reason.

It always holds your attention and has an energy about it. You can tell that everybody had a really good time making this, and that really prints to the audience. Every E.L.O. dance sequence (except the first one, which is strangely executed) really works, and is sure to get your foot tapping.

I would never at any point address this as being a good movie, it's guilty pleasure territory at best, but it's not hard to have a good time with it. And the music will rock you, if you have any taste whatsoever.