54 (1998)

I've been interested in seeing this film for a few years, but never really made the effort. I can't say my life was changed or that I learned much from this film. It's a classic story of bacchanalia and ferocious fight for fame, but this time set in Studio 54, late 70s, NYC.

I was excited to see some serious dancing, but it was limited mostly to what looked like rave dancing - arms in the air, pulsing chests, that sort of thing. It didn't actually seem like all that much fun to be on the dance floor - in the movie anyway. Maybe disco was like that; I wouldn't know, I was only 4.

The film tracks Shane, a bartender at the club, as Studio 54 slides down the hill of tax evasion and debauchery. Shane gets his share of loneliness and ecstasy, but on the whole, he's not very interesting to watch and I had a hard time sympathizing with his struggles (maybe because I haven't bedded dozens of supermodels or done hard drugs). But beyond that, he doesn't really suffer all that much, mild shunning from his family, sleeping in his car and being on the street with no shirt in winter. Poor Shane.

Mike Myers is the one who steals the show completely. He plays 54's owner and the manipulator of the party. Drugs, sex, good looks, reputation, and cheesy sentimentality are his recipe for the most famous dance club in history. Myers physical transformation in the movie (bad hair and modified nose) isn't the only reason he's almost unrecognizable; his acting is amazing as a drug addict with a penchant for young men and money.

The other actors are pretty, but don't draw you in as much as Myers does.

There are a lot of gratuitous sex scenes in the film. Sure it was a part of the club scene, but the lingering shots seemed excessive.

The main theme that I could draw from 54 was the desire for fame and riches. It didn't seem too cut throat like the corporate world. Instead it was a matter of ditching your self-worth and having sex with whoever you felt you had to in order to advance your career or dressing/acting/dancing the way people decided you should. So much for being the place ". . . where all labels were left behind. A place where there were no rules."


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