Tagged: 1977
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Hey, it got me dancing!
Director John Badham’s musical ushered in the disco craze with the character of 19-year-old Tony Manero (John Travolta). By day, Tony’s a paint store clerk, but at night he’s a polyester-clad stallion who rules the dance floor of a Brooklyn nightspot with his partner, Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney).
First, to start off I have got to praise the film for making me basically want to dance all the time. The whole defines the look, way, and feel of 1970s New York, during the great days of when disco was alive and kickin’. I felt like I was totally in this world mostly because of the wonderful dancing and soundtrack.
The Bee Gee’s look like a bunch of huge pot heads, that you wouldn’t be expecting belting out hits like “Stayin’ Alive“, or “More Than a Woman” for that matter. But their music fits so well with this movie, and the dance scenes that are in this just are exciting and fun every time it goes down. You feel the fun, and the craziness that occured in these 1970s clubs, and you kind of wish you were there.
But other than this disco nightlife, and dancing, its all considered second to real life. However, I just wish this person’s life wasn’t so out-of-hand. Some of the stuff in this movie gets a little wild, like a chick getting raped like twice, drunk guys dancing on a bridge, and some random graphic violence. For me, I understood what the film’s ideas were, but I just wasn’t totally convinced, that this is how crazy life outside of the night clubs can be.
The main reason the film works is none other than one of the greatest leading men of all-time, Mister John Travolta. Nowadays, Travolta gets a bad-rep because he does crappy films like, Old Dogs, or Wild Hogs, but back in his hay-day, people, he had it going on. Travolta makes this character easily likable with his signature charm and charisma that got him so far in his career. Also, there were no stunt doubles used for the dancing scenes, so everything nutty and crazy you see Travolta doing on that dance floor, its him! Trust me, he’s got moves! He’s not the brightest tool in the shed, but due to his self-confidence the ladies want him, and the guys want to be him (points to myself). Karen Lynn Gorney was also good, but her voice was a little mannish, and she didn’t quite look the part since she does look a lot older, but hey, she can dance it out as well.
The main reason to see this film is the wonderful dance scene these two have, its just what and how perfect film can be.
Consensus: Though its plot gets a little crazy outside of the dancing and night-clubbing, Saturday Night Fever is a classic that features a wonderful look at the disco era, complete with a jamming soundtrack, awesome dance moves, and an iconic performance from the man they call, Travolta.
9/10=Full Pricee!!!!
Oh God! (1977)
When I think of what God looks like, I know I don’t think about George Burns.
Buttonholing venerable comedian George Burns for the title role was certainly a divine inspiration! God, in the guise of a wisecracking old gent, decides to makes his presence known to a harried grocery clerk (John Denver) so he can get the message out that “everything on earth can still work if we want it to.”
Going into this film I was expecting to hear a bunch of little rants about religion and how God isn’t real and how he is. Well I didn’t get that, and instead what I got was a very true, if not careful look at the world of religion.
There are plenty of one-liners that make this film very funny. By the end you have this feeling that God isn’t just a funny guy, but probably a really chill guy that you wouldn’t mind hanging out with. The film is directed by Carl Reiner, who instead of making this film very silly and dumb, he brings up this smart and quietly funny story, that all of us can connect to.
But what i really found interesting and it is still so true today, even more so, that even when we do see miracles in our lives right in front of us we still tend to ignore then and credit it to something else. This movie does carry a timeless message that WE are creating our life, that we all have a choice to live a certain way and that everything that is happening in our world is created by us and actually is a reflection by us. But again, it is all our choice to believe it or not. And the only things that we complain about, is truly and simply about ourselves and nothing else.
However, although the humor was there at points it really wasn’t in the film all the way through. For some of these parts I was bored and uninterested until God came back on the screen and made everything funny. Also, this film really doesn’t get strong and effective until the very last 20 minutes. I feel like with a strong message that I basically just stated above, this film could have benefited from that throughout the whole film, but instead choose to use it at the end of the film.
I really did like George Burns as God however. He doesn’t play this stereotypical image we have of God instead he just plays himself, and makes the film a whole lot more funnier with this representation. Surprisingly, John Denver does a better job than I expected. He doesn’t seem too cheesy and more believable as an actor than a country artist. If only he didn’t die too young, or else he could have been in better films. Some guys just don’t have all the luck.
Consensus: Oh God! is good but not terrific. It features a heart-felt message, with good acting, and a smart script, its just that its message wasn’t as effective until the very end of the film.
8/10=Matineee!!!!
