if you hit your teen in the 70 and a i do and you probably remember the story about studio 54 whether or not you like disco . an exclusive club and it be the perfect symbol of 70 cultural overindulgence and self absorption while there even an excellent vh1 documentary about the club that could tell you everything you want to know about it heyday and and the story be easily interest enough to spawn a very captivating film . sadly and this isn not it . 54 follow the life of a few of it employee and a bartender name shane ( ryan phillippe ) and a busboy name greg ( breckin meyer ) and his wife and a coat check girl and anita ( selma hayek ) and and of course the master of ceremony himself and steve rubell ( mike meyers ) . while the going on at the club be well represent and this film concern itself more with the personal life of the worker and follow shane story the close . the movie work in spurt . sometimes it capture perfectly the shallowness of the nightlife culture ( such a when shane be take to a dinner party and doesn not know who errol flynt be ) and and other time it wax into hokey melodrama . some of that be inherent in the premise follow the underling a they mingle in the world of the rich and fabulous but a lot of it be due to the kid gloved treatment with which both the club and rubell be give throughout the movie . while rubell certainly electrify the scene in new york with his penchant for over the top spectacle and his exclusive hand picking of the crowd each night and the rampant drug and sexuality be only briefly touch on while and rubell himself and while his excess be mention and come off oddly positive for a guy who be in life a liar and a cheat and a drug abuser and and promiscuous a all hell . not that i be look for the man to be pillory here and but his ego directly contribute to the fall of his club and the diminishing of the nightlife culture he help to elevate . a final scene where he gaze down at the regular paternally be so emotionally false a to be patently absurd . meyers do his best to capture rubell and but he give so little to work with here it surprise his performance be effective while but he good and and he help to anchor the film . philippe and whom i find generally to be a good actor and be hamstring here by the shallowness and stupidity of his character while he limit to a deer in the headlight smile or a sullen uncomprehending frown and and even he can not translate that into a strong performance . hayek and meyer be both okay and again and undercut by the writing and and neve campbell prominently feature on the dvd cover appear so briefly she really have an extend cameo . for some reason i still find myself interested and even fascinate and by the popular culture of the second half of the seventy . but even give that and this be not a film that particularly engage me and despite a predisposition to like it . i would say if that era and or that club and have any interest for you and track down the vh1 special rather than this middle of the road melodrama .