Movie Small Talk: Forget Sylvester, It's All About Frank

Who needs a clear plot line, well written dialogue, or interesting characters when there is a movie starring the likes of John - Pre-Battlefield Earth - Travolta full on committing to the performance of silly choreography.

Wait. All of that sounds terrible!

Au contraire my friends. Written and directed by Sylvester Stallone (your ears just perked up a little more), Staying Alive, the sequel to the 1977 hit Saturday Night Fever, is the epitome of the "so bad it's good" category of cinema. Equally adored and crucified. 

Move over Gigli, this one reaches a whole other level in the spectator sport of bad movie appreciation.

Travolta is reprising his role as Tony Manero and apparently his "fever is still burning". That fire  has propelled him in to having a dream of performing on Broadway. Which, I think, happens about half way through the movie. I'm unsure since they never really say, and, hey, since when do musicals not have any singing? Just a thought for anyone hoping to do a real life revival of "Satan's Alley."

Normally in a dance centric movie, all the other details (acting, story, costumes) can be a mess, but at least the choreography will be top notch and exciting. In the case of Staying Alive, while it may be highly amusing to watch, this one could  win a Worst Choreography Of All Time award. Everything down to the karate chopping/wing flapping frolic around the stage is laughably insane.

Some people could argue that none of this flick is worth your time. However, what will never be up for debate is the lively soundtrack performed by none other than Frank Stallone. Yes indeed, brother to Sylvester.

"Far From Over" should be auto-programmed into all electronic devices for use as an alarm. Cue to me dancing out of my bed, every day at 6 am for the next century. This is happening. It's really not a good morning without Frank Stallone - a sentence I would never have thought was possible until this week.

You guys! The first 15-seconds of that video is how the movie opens! I get chills just watching Travolta's intense hair bobbing, shoulder thrusting action.

Looking for a reason to host a laugh-a-minute movie night that can quickly escalate into a dance party? Search for a copy of  Staying Alive as soon as possible or look up when it is playing next on Movieplex. Be sure to set a reminder a couple days in advance, like I did, so you won't be able to forget such a momentous occasion. Don't worry if you haven't seen the first movie in the, "Travolta just wants to dance" double feature. I haven't either and as far as I can tell, Staying Alive is a stand alone masterpiece.

One generous tip of a hat goes to How Did This Get Made for re-invigorating the attention for Travolta and the Stallone brothers. They needed it and so did we. (It's been said before - That podcast is required listening as a follow-up to this highly entertaining wreck of cinema.)

Until next time.