Have you ever wondered what you get by mixing a boring plot, unappealing characters and bad dialogue? Watch "Saturday Night Fever" for a demo.
John Travolta stars in this classic '70s movie which unfortunately begins this term's film series at the Hop. Travolta plays Tony, a down-on-his-luck 19-year-old whose only success in life is at the dance studio where he can out-disco anyone.
Tony and his strong-willed partner Stephanie, played by Karen Gorney, train to compete in a disco competition, only to have their emotions get in the way.
The problem with this movie is that the plot is extremely weak and the characters do nothing to fill the gap. The audience never really feels sympathy or compassion for any of the characters, including Tony and Stephanie.
Travolta performs with little of the ability demonstrated in such films as "Pulp Fiction" or "Primary Colors," and, as a result, Tony comes across as one dimensional and unlovable.
The peripheral characters also serve little help to this desperate film. With few exceptions, Tony's friends, family and co-workers are barely developed, and it would be difficult to remember any of them except Bobby, a lonely and torn figure whose sad story creates the greatest impact viewers of this movie will feel. However, his story is touched upon too infrequently for any audience bond to really exist.
This movie contains many of these subplots which seem to come and go sporadically only to fill time. If featured more prominently, they could have been very interesting, but we barely get to scratch the surface of these issues.
At the heart of these problems is cinematic indecision. Is this a light fluffy movie about discos and dancing, or is it a serious drama dealing with such weighty topics as abortion, rape, and self-confidence?
By trying to do both, "Saturday Night Fever" ends up being neither -- too heavy to be fun and too light to be serious.
Even the dancing sequences are unenjoyable and entirely forgettable. They seem dark and somber compared with those in similar themed films like "Dirty Dancing."
One would think that the disco on Saturday night would be the bastion of fun that a tired, overworked, and unhappy man would want.
Instead Travolta transforms Tony into a manipulative, competitive character void of any appealing characteristics. Only at the very end do we see compassion ooze from his overly tight persona.
This could have been balanced by niceness in other supporting characters, but little is to be seen at all. Tony's parents fight. Tony's friends fight. Tony fights with his partner. Tony fights with his ex-partner. Tony fights with his boss. And you side with none of them.
"Saturday Night Fever" isn't fun. It isn't thought-provoking. And worst of all -- it isn't entertaining.
