Review of Xanadu (1980) by Robert D — 02 Apr 2011
Theoretically, this should be my favorite movie of all time: Olivia Newton-John as a roller-skating muse, who emerges from a painting, teaches us about disco music, glitter, 80s fashion and the art of destroying Gene Kelley's mind in an attempt to revitalize a downtrodden nightclub, while also standing back and letting Michael Beck showcase how woefully out of place he is in this musical that somehow turned a profit.
On those merits, I give this 71 stars out of five but not even a soundtrack largely composed of Electric Light Orchestra music can save this. Beck plays a surly painter who hates his job working on album covers.
BUT! Then he befriends a retired Kelly, who can still dance... or else no one else in this can dance and he just looks that much better, and the two become friends in the pursuit of following their dreams - which I guess are rekindling a love of music and dancing for Kelly and surviving the movie long enough to fire his agent for Beck.
All the while this is happening, Beck falls in love with this hot roller girl who just happens to appear and disappear on a whim (Newton-John) and it isn't long before all three become involved in a plot to open the club, Xanadu.
This already sounds largely insane (because it is) but then there's a whole deviation to Mt. Olympus, several musical numbers that are almost painful to watch (Beck mooring over his emotions to "The Fall" are probably the most unintentionally funny three minutes to come out of this) and a finale that is so cheesy that everyone who watches this comes down with cardiac arrest by the time the credits are done rolling.
Don't get me wrong, there are some legitimately positive things here with Newton-John being criminally adorable, Kelly hamming it up and Beck pretending he cares about stomping around some pretty impressive sets but those moments are not enough to save this.
When the best part of your movie is a shopping trip with Kelly set to ELO's "All Over the World," your flick may have a few problems, you know?
This review of Xanadu (1980) was written by Robert D on 02 Apr 2011.
Xanadu has generally received mixed reviews.
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