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Staying Alive (1983)
Rate:
2
Viewed:
11/07, 3/22
11/07:
I checked the DVD case to see who the director was for Staying Alive.
To my surprise, it's Sylvester Stallone. After blinking twice, I reread the words, and they still said: "Sylvester
Stallone." Yes, that Sylvester Stallone of Rocky and
Rambo fame. Holy shit, he directed a dance movie.
Staying Alive fails on so many levels that it's literally a train wreck. Forget about the magic that Tony Manero
created in Saturday Night Fever. It's gone. Obviously, John Travolta took
steroids to prepare for his role; he looks different and weird. When he dances, there's no charm coming out of him.
Who cares about the absence of Tony's father or his siblings? Who cares if his old dance partner or loser friends are
gone? They all mean nothing because it's the new Tony Manero who's played by an almost-unrecognizable bodybuilder named
John Travolta.
There's no story to speak of. Subplots are set up and then quickly forgotten. The same is said for the characters. It's
only a matter of who can be the most underdeveloped. None of the scenes is connected to each other. Cheesy moments pop
up while the acting is corny. The dance sequences are awful. Satan's Alley? Ha! That's exactly where I was the
entire time while watching the movie.
All in all, Staying Alive is among the worst sequels ever; in fact, it isn't even a sequel.
3/22:
I tried...I really tried, but Staying Alive is so bad that it's like watching a train wreck.
What was everybody thinking? Why Saturday Night Fever worked is everything.
It was also contingent on John Travolta having an endearing personality with incredible dance sequences.
Staying Alive has been a total opposite. John Travolta is constantly aggressive, his body is gross, the dancing
is soulless, and the plot is pointless. Even Bob Fosse would've hated it.
Why does Tony Manero have to work hard to get women? Instead, they should be crawling all over him. When he ditched his
personality, that was the end of him and the beginning of some guy named Annette with a bipolar disorder. One minute, he's
angry and attacking; the next thing I know, he's happy and blessed over something trivial. In short, John Travolta is like
Tom Cruise trapped in Sylvester Stallone's body. At the same time, he has a sadomasochistic relationship with rejection
and therefore keeps pursuing for more. Why does he have a strong interest in Laura (Finola Hughes)?
The last thirty minutes is the worst which concerns a production called Satan's Alley. I'm surprised there are old
people in the attendance who were clapping to what amounted to a sexual orgy of some sort. At least, the film's lone
bright spot is Cynthia Rhodes as Jackie, but the poor girl doesn't realize she's being used by Tony. A cool moment
occurs when John Travolta bumped into Sylvester Stallone while walking on the street which resulted in the latter giving
him a death stare behind his shades.
All in all, apart from Battlefield Earth, Staying Alive is the
weirdest movie John Travolta ever did.