Benutzerrezensionen

What makes a good film for me is that it is enjoyable, entertaining, gripping, likable and emotional. Flashdance without a doubt ticks all these five boxes. Flahdance is a very retro, cheesy entertaining film that is at no point boring and never drags, and is also a very clear symbol of the great 1980's and the night club exotic dancing scene of the time. Jennifer Beals puts down an amazing performance, as a dancer and as an actress. I guess the story comes down to the fact that reality bites, that life is tough, but if you push hard you just might make it.

All in all, Flashdance despite its few undeniable faults is a very decent and enjoyable film in my opinion. As it mostly meets all of my requirements I am happy to give it a positive review. This film is one of the quintessential 80's films, that works well as a symbolic artifact of its time. I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves 80's.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Okay - the dancing is done by someone else, the script has a bunch of flaws (dialogue being almost the worst), and the basic premise is absurd - an 18-yo dreaming of starting a career in ballet? (In ballet, you're just about approaching the peak of your career at 18.)

However, the movie has some heart-grabbing moments, the score is wonderful, the girls are pretty, and the moral of the story (keep on trying until you win) is as true as it ever was. This is probably the worst movie you'll ever have a wonderful time watching.

As a past professional dancer, I probably watch this movie about once a year. It's an essential part of any dancer's library, regardless of its flaws.

There are already many comments on this film in the IMDb database, and I had no intention of writing another until to my surprise I noticed that it was frequently being replayed on several different local TV channels. Flashdance is a very outdated movie that has never appealed to most film critics, so I felt this was sufficiently unusual to justify an attempted explanation.

Since the DVD of Flashdance was released, it has appeared for hire in many small local convenience stores and service stations that only maintain a very small rack of films for hire Clearly although it is now very much of a period movie, it continues to retain an enormous appeal for many of those who have seen it before. Personally I have watched our tape of Flashdance more often than most of the other tapes we have at home. This is not because it would be my first choice, but because it is a film that my wife loves to watch again and again; whilst I find I can view it repeatedly more readily than many of her other favorite tapes, so when we are discussing what to view and have rejected a number of other possibilities we tend to turn back to Flashdance. This reinforces the comments already made in your database about Flashdance being a "feel good" movie for which most people seem able to ignore the faults and just enjoy the music, the dancing and the romance. (It also features "Grunt", a very appealing dog, who remains one of the reasons why my wife is always ready to rewatch this film.) As a film Flashdance is therefore something of a paradox. Originally the final product was not very highly regarded by the studio and only received a limited release. This was severely panned by most of the critics, and not surprisingly the film initially received very little support from the public. The reviews and the low attendance led to plans to withdraw it from circulation early, but before these were implemented the audiences started to grow and continued to increase until cinemas showing the film were mostly packed out. Clearly those few who saw the film at an early showing started telling their friends to ignore the critics and see it. This escalated exponentially until the film finished up as a major hit. In commenting on this film it would be equally invalid to ignore the very real concerns of the critics or the equally real appeal it had, and still seems to have, for most of the public.

The story is trite - a female welder in a steelworks dreams of being a ballet dancer and practices her dancing in one of the local bars at night. Here she meets and starts to fall in love with her fairly young divorced boss. With his support she is able obtain an audition with a major dance company who are essentially only interested in her dance training, and lose any interest they may have had when she says she has never attended a dance school. However she proceeds to audition for the very bored selection committee and gives an electrifying free dance performance that in true fairy story tradition brings the committee to its feet. Some critics have complained that doubles replaced the star Jennifer Beals for this sequence, but this is surely not important - the real question is how effectively the film plays, and this sequence has rightly been very widely admired. About the time the film was released, modern dance companies were being formed alongside traditional ballet companies in many major cities in North America and this sequence certainly added to the appeal of the film at the time, but it is decidedly not the only reason for watching it.

I could spend pages criticizing the screenplay in several different respects, but other comments in your database have already done this, and these criticisms are ultimately not damming. The important thing is that the film maintains an ongoing flow which sweeps most viewers along and earns it a place as one of the finer musical comedies to have been released in the past quarter century. The object of a film is to entertain the public and in ranking Flashdance I feel I must base my rating on its undeniable success in doing just this. So 7 out of 10.

So here's this movie "Flashdance" which has been staring me in the face for years, both in pop culture for over half of my life and on the video rental store shelves, and yet I've never gotten around to checking it out until now.

I was fifteen when this movie was first out and popular. I heard the soundtrack, of course, and loved it to pieces... but I had never been able to watch the movie because it was rated R.

I had grown up having it be, in an odd sort of way, both a part of my life and at the same time *not* a part of my life. I was familiar with its music, images, and even its basic plot outline, but had never seen the movie.

And as an adult, I felt extremely dubious about checking it out. Over the years, I had heard that people either loved it to pieces or hated it. I've heard critics both call it uplifting and fun while others called it nothing more than a string of glittering little music videos strung together on an extremely thin strand of plot (a creation device for a LOT of MTV-era movies such as "Top Gun", "Footloose" and "Purple Rain").

To add to my confusion about whether or not I should give it a try, I had had the same experience with "Saturday Night Fever": I grew up loving the soundtrack to pieces but having never seen the movie... and when I finally did I felt utter disappointment at first, discovering the film to be far darker than expected. Oh sure, I later liked "Fever" okay (actually, I should use the term "appreciated") but still preferred the gorgeous soundtrack to the actual film that was the basis for its existance.

Would I have the same experience with "Flashdance"?

Tonight, I finally decided to, as one character in the film puts it, "hold my breath and take the plunge".

As it turns out, I found it to be a surprisingly charming, entertaining and uplifting film. I was fearing it to be something raunchy, but at it turns out it has a very special, starry-eyed sweet innocence that is difficult to define.

The performance of the equally starry-eyed and innocent Jennifer Beals helps, of course. She brings a wide-eyed sparkle and hopefulness to her role, plus a determination to keep her life on the right track precisely as she feels it ought to go without any major morality screwups, and this adds a wonderful flavour of hope and childlike wonder to her character Alex that just simply grows on you.

Now, it IS true that there are a few flaws here and there, and a couple of editing flaws as well. Plus, the other characters aren't really as developed as hers (but they are developed just enough to demonstrate to her personally the various dos and don'ts regarding attitudes to have while pursuing a dream, voices for her to observe and learn from representing both directions). But none of that matters because the film has a charm all its own. Looking at it today, I can easily see why so many out there loved it: its a beautiful and very encouraging little film. It has a heroine whom anybody could relate with and like; it has wonderful music in it; it has a delicate and lighthearted touch to it which, language and a couple of scenes aside (such as the film's most heartbreaking scene in which Alex saves a desperate friend from throwing life away in a strip joint (a sequence which only lasts about two minutes long--but it's sad and disturbing, not "Oooh, let's put this in to grab male members of the audience!"--which is most likely the only ingredient to earn the film its R rating)), is nevertheless still so pure and true that it could have come straight out of a '70s-made Walt Disney Productions movie (!!!); it's touching and moving... and, of course, it has dance sequences which are fun to watch.

In other words, it was a comforting and uplifting movie released during a time when people, youngsters with career goals in particular, needed one. And if anything, folks still need movies like that out today. It's a happy little film with a happy ending which isn't overdone or unconvincing, and precisely the sort of flick which should be perscribed to those suffering severe depression. Heaven knows that I myself certainly felt encouraged about my own career and life in particular after watching it!

It might not be for everybody, but if the above description I've written voices the sort of movie you personally enjoy then do yourself a big favour and give it a try. Chances are that if you are as naturally starry-eyed and hopeful as Alex is--and believe me, *I* certainly am--then you will easily relate to this delightful little fable.

In recent years there have been a number of British films based on the theme of working-class people who find fulfilment through their cultural activities; examples being Educating Rita (the first and most distinguished), Brassed Off, The Full Monty and Billy Elliott. Such films are frequently described as `quintessentially British' or `something that we can do and Hollywood can't', whereas the truth is that twenty years ago Hollywood was indeed making very similar films, mostly centred upon dancing, such as Saturday Night Fever, Dirty Dancing or Flashdance. Whereas these American films may not have had the covert (or, in the case of Brassed Off, highly overt) political message of their British counterparts, they nevertheless concentrated on differences in social class far more than Hollywood movies usually do.

The heroine of Flashdance, Alex, is a young woman who works as a welder and whose main joy in life is dancing. She moonlights as a dancer in a local nightclub, but her great ambition in life is to become a ballet dancer. The film tells the story of how she achieves that ambition, as well as the story of her romance with a wealthy middle-class divorcee, set against frequent dance sequences as Alex and her ice-skating friend Jeanie go through their paces. The climax comes with a scene in which she auditions for a place at a prestigious ballet academy and treats the judging committee to a bravura display of breakdancing. (Would a ballet school really be prepared to offer a place to a candidate whose dance skills owe more to the disco than to Swan Lake and who seems completely ignorant of balletic idiom?)

The film has its weak points. Although the plot is not as non-existent as some reviewers have felt, it nevertheless tends to take second place to the showpiece dance numbers; at times, it felt as if I were watching an extended series of pop videos. Potentially interesting themes are ignored; for example, Alex is a practising Catholic, but this seems to be a plot device to enable scenes set in the confessional to be used as soliloquies in which she can air her emotional problems. No attempt is made to explore the possible conflict between the demands of her religion and her sexually provocative dancing or her love for a divorcee.

The acting is undistinguished; Jennifer Beals makes an attractive and personable heroine, but it is clear why, despite the success of this film, she did not go on to become a major star. Her acting is too weak to enable her to carry a film; certainly I felt that she would be out of her depth in one that depends more upon plot and less upon song and dance. The other characters are little more than ciphers, with the exception of Hanna, the old lady who acts as Alex's mentor. I could certainly have done without the tasteless ethnic jokes told by Alex's comedian friend.

Yet, despite its faults, I enjoyed this film. Its redeeming feature is the zest and energy of its dance sequences, set to some well-chosen music such as Laura Branigan's Gloria or Irene Cara's title song. It may not be deep or significant, but it is an enjoyable, well-made piece of popular entertainment. 6/10.

Astronaut John Glenn once said (about seeing earth from outer space) "To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible". I bring this up because I more or less said the same thing when Jennifer Beals first lifted up her welding mask in 'Flashdance'. Wow. But she's more than a pretty face. The material may only be thimble deep, but Beals brings just the right mix of energy, grit and old fashioned spunk to the part and instantly gets us on her side. That she was only 18 at the time is mind boggling. No, it's not her dancing, and this is painfully obvious on a large HD TV, but she does just fine with the dramatic heavy lifting, such as it is.

Born out of the BIG Bang that was MTV, 'Flashdance' became a phenomenon in 1983. Marrying the visual style of the former with an old fashioned underdog tale in the spirit of Rocky, it captured people's imagination and remains a well loved guilty pleasure for many. So much so that it recently inspired a musical in the UK that has since traveled the U.S. as well.

It does one no good to hold the film up to any sort of deep scrutiny. Just put on your legwarmers and go with the beat. What a feeling.

This was a decent movie and it kicked off a lot of the fashion trends of the 80s.

But the most notable fact is that this is where the moonwalk was first seen. Contrary to popular belief, Michael Jackson did not invent the moonwalk.

There is a scene where Nouri and Beals are taking a romantic stroll. They momentarily pass a group of people break dancing on the street. This is where the world was first treated to a moonwalk.

It wasn't until years later that Jacko took credit for inventing it. He never gave proper credit to the unnamed street dancer in Flashdance.

I know how much Flashdance became such a huge hit of the 80's, it defined a whole new generation of clothes, behavior, and dance moves. That's what made Flashdance so special. Now I was born in '85 so I kinda missed out on these things, but I understand it's importance. I just bought this movie yesterday, it was back to back with Footloose, two iconic 80's movies, and I watched Flashdance this afternoon. While this film defined a huge part of the 80's, it was an average film with a simple plot. The acting and story is just pretty average, but it's a cute and fun one.

Alex is a welder by day, but at night she is a sexy exotic dancer who grabs the attention of all the men. But she has big time dreams to become a ballet dancer, she has promised her grandmother that she would apply to the top ballet school and try to get an audition. But Alex is always intimidated by the other "proper looking" dancers with tons more experience than her. She falls in love with a fellow co-worker, Nick, who wants her to make it just as badly. She goes through rough times, but she just wants to make it and will do anything for that chance.

Flashdance is one of those must see movies if you wanna see the important films of the 80's. I just wanted to see what this movie was about since it's such a huge part of film culture. Jennifer Beals actually did a great job as Alex, she was absolutely beautiful and made the character very likable. While this film did not live up to my expectations, it still was a good film. It has an awesome sound track and really is a lot of fun to dance too. Now excuse me, but I wanna try to take my bra off without removing my shirt, lol.

5/10

Flashdance is one of my Top Ten Films. I don't care that it has no twisting plot. I don't care that Jennifer Beals used a body double. I REALLY don't care that it's a chick flick. I love this movie!! Some people, after seeing Flashdance, choose to see a movie about exotic dancing. For one reason or another, I see a movie about chasing dreams, taking chances, and maximizing life.

Jennifer Beals' character Alex Owens's dream of attending a formal dance school and becoming a ballerina is the central theme of the film. Her friends Jeanie and Richie are aspiring figure skaters and stand-up comedians, respectively. However, Alex is the only dreamer receiving any encouragement. Her senior citizen friend Hannah, a former ballerina herself, gives Alex practical advice and unconditional faith. Jeanie's father openly criticizes Jeanie's dream as well as her beau, Richie. Richie, a cook at Mawby's Bar, is put down by his boss for wanting to go to Hollywood and being a comedian; "You're too short. They don't let short people into Hollywood."

The sub-plots facilitate Alex's dream to create a captivating story. To support herself (and possibly, to keep life interesting), Alex holds 2 jobs: a welder by day and a dancer at aforementioned Mawby's Bar during the night. Her welding boss Nick takes a liking to her and pursues her. Alex resists his charms but gives in eventually. Johnny C., the sleazy strip bar owner continually tries to lure Alex into dancing for him. As mentioned before, Alex's friends Jeanie and Richie have dreams of their own, and we see where their dreams take them.

The factor that made Flashdance a hit was the music, of course. "What a Feeling" took away an Oscar for Best Song. "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is", sung by Kim Carnes ("Bette Davis Eyes") fits Alex's personal-crisis scene perfectly.

The first time I watched Flashdance was 4 years ago; I bought the video knowing I'd like it. After 20+ viewings, I still love it. Flashdance is for anyone who has a dream but not the courage to pursue it.

I was a teenager when I saw this movie and since I didn't go to a movie house very often in those days (even less now), of course the movie had an impact on me. But what I remember mostly from my perception back then was how great the music was and how the dancing was out of this world.

This said, I hadn't seen it since then and I wanted to watch it again with an adult perspective to review things properly. It might be unfair to judge Flashdance with our modern eyes since as an audience we are so much more sophisticated being deluged with special effects and amazing technical achievements in movies then we all were in the 1980's.

But even as a 15 year old and not knowing much of anything about editing or technical aspects of movie making, I remember that I instantly noticed that the dancing was not done by the same person. This is no big secret now and is even mentioned in the trivia here but Marine Jahan was the one who danced in most of the sequences that were supposed to be done by Jennifer Beals. I recall being startled at just how carelessly they had filmed Marine in medium shot with her face clearly visible in many segments inter cut with a few shots of Beals in close ups to maintain the illusion.

I also remember an award show in those days where they finally exposed the truth that Marine Jahan was the dancing double and she even performed a dance routine that blew me away. I can just imagine how frustrating it must have been for her not even being credited here or anywhere else for her work. Her dancing is amazing and I don't know why they couldn't use someone who could act the scenes as well as dance but I guess we're talking about a different era.

Today of course, they would find an actress who can dance or a dancer who can act and they do exist. This brings me back to the ultimate frustration I felt with this movie. Cynthia Rhodes has a small part as Tina Tech one of the dancers and I will never figure out why they didn't give her the lead part of Alex Owens. Not only was Rhodes gorgeous and an amazing dancer (her one big dancing scene is the highlight of the movie to me...) but she could also act. She deserved that part but I guess Beals had something that the producers preferred.

I have to say that I was disappointed in Jennifer's performance. For some reason, I didn't connect with her portrayal and even though she is the lead, the fact that I keep seeing someone else's face every time Alex dances pulls me out of the story which by the way, isn't much at all. Nothing really happens and except for the dance scenes which are spectacular, nothing else attracted my attention.

Which brings me to my final point. This is I think one of the very first movies that was truly made successful by the soundtrack. The music is of course the main star of this movie and on that front, they struck gold. Even today, those songs are so powerful that they uplift the so-so movie into the stratosphere.

So a 6 star rating felt fair because even though this is by means a great movie and should mostly be viewed as a collection of music videos, the dancing and the music makes it an enjoyable depiction of an era gone by and I for one can respect the fact that this became such a monster hit that it defined a whole generation.

It was a very 80s movie -- the music, the dance, the way people look in the movie. I have only watched it once, and that was more than 10 years ago when I was a kid going to a primary school in Beijing. I am Chinese and I grew up in Beijing, so I don't know how much my opinions reflect the typical audience. This movie made a very deep impression on me. It was in the late 80s when I watched it, and it, along with other movies, introduced me to American culture. And I was just fascinated. I remember for a while everybody in China was doing breakdancing, partly because of _Flashdance_. I realize it is not a very good movie, but for me this movie brings back memory of the 80s, when my friends and I first learned about American culture, and how we tried to learn everything about America as we grew up.

Can a beautiful woman work as a welder in a steel plant and not experience sexual harassment? Does a welder have enough energy at the end of their shift to be able to dance at night as a second job? Can someone with no formal dance training audition for a ballet academy? Can you really park your bike anywhere in Pittsburgh without locking it up? Why don't all women take their bras off in front of me like that? These questions are about as relevant to Flashdance as questions about space travel are to Star Wars. This is pure Hollywood fantasy fun; it's an alternate universe to enjoy for 90 minutes and forget that you're living in Florida.

As other users have said this film is very dated, but not necessarily bad. It was looked upon as a bit of fluff that was very successful in the box office. So now, it would come across as nostalgic (in the same vein as Dirty Dancing). But the thing I do like about it, is just that. Adrian Lyne perfectly captured the time, a post disco era when Break-dancing and Synth Pop were all the rage - Who could forget the FANTASTIC theme song, sung by Irene Cara (Fame) and composed by Synth Pop genius Giorgio Moroder (I feel love - Donna Summer among many others). So what if Jennifer Beals wasn't a great actress? So what if it wasn't her dancing? (Think one of them was a break dancer from "The Rock Steady Crew" - see? All about the era!) she was a good looking girl, and this was a harmless bit of fun at the time.

The infamous water scene ... while she is dancing. Jennifer Beals got quite famous because of the movie and that scene. Well because of the movie overall of course. But the movie is decent and might not have aged particularly well. The music it has still resonates though. And what a great soundtrack this has - just amazing.

The movie or rather the story is quite simple. The main character seems quite resistent in many ways. Help me to help you - could have been one of the dialogs. Although it is more "help you, to help yourself". But her mind is set in blocking herself. So there is a blueprint in here in how to self sabotage. In that sense it is really well told - but is it enough to make the viewing worthwhile? Something you have to decide ... the dance scenes are nice, the compilation and especially the ending ... uplifting, no pun intended. Predictable but overall fun.

This film is an inebriating flow of 80s pop culture, its amazing soundtrack, the way people looked and dressed, the dancing styles, its overwhelming sensuality. It is a dive into those years in which everything seemed lighter and surely looked more colourful and appealing.

The story is pretty straightforward: Alex, the protagonist, is a beautiful young woman who loves dancing and who works as a welder to make a living. She is too afraid to follow her dreams until she starts dating Nick, her handsome rich boss. It is a simple romantic comedy. Anyway the appeal given by this movie cannot be found in its plot, but rather in its surroundings, the music, the dances, the hypnotic looks and wonderful Jennifer Beals in one of her best performances.

I love this film. It is on in the UK right now. I loved it when i was at university but it has always bothered me that the film never explained whether she had parents or not. Was she an orphan? It also seemed a bit odd that at 18 she was a welder.IT is a skilled job. How did she get that job as a girl at 18!! and 20 yrs ago!! And the rest of the male workers seemed to accept her .. which I find hard to believe. Their must have been a lot of male chauvanism in that environment. But then it is make believe and I should not be such a cynic! Plus who was the actress or dancer who did the amazing dance with the black mask on who seemed to be made of elastic and danced to "Manhunt'?

I give "Flashdance" a lowest rating of 1 out of 10 because it's nothing more than a series of music videos with a movie short surrounding the music videos, in order to clock in as a feature length film. Since when does that count as film? Jennifer Beals plays Alex Owens, an aspiring 18-year-old dancer, who, incomprehensibly, has a job as a welder in a Pittsburgh steel factory. Not a line of work most older women find their way into, much less 18-year-olds fresh out of high school. Meanwhile, at night she works as an exotic dancer, who never actually takes off her clothes, in a greasy spoon bar called Mawby's. Yet looking at the well choreographed and well polished dance routines the girls do every night at Mawby's, you would think they were working at the best casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Alex ends up having a predictable romance with her boss, Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri), who is about twice her age. After resisting Nick's advances, because going out with the boss isn't a good idea, she wastes no time in going all the way with him after their first date. Alex and Nick make no effort to hide their relationship on the job, which makes no sense given how it is likely to look to Alex's co-workers.

When Beals isn't being doubled for the many dance sequences in the movie, her character spends most her time throwing temper tantrums. Alex's dream is to get an invitation only audition at the prestigious Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Inexplicably, when her boss/boyfriend helps her get the audition she's been dreaming of, she's throws one her tantrums. She angrily tells Nick she isn't doing the audition because of his intervention, and then gets out of his car in the middle of a busy tunnel. This is just one scene that leaves you wondering what the hell the makers were thinking when they were making this.

Of course, Alex does eventually get her audition at the Conservatory. She puts on a dance routine before the Conservatory board that is so ridiculous that you would think it was in a movie marketed to the MTV generation. Oh yeah, it is a dance routine in a movie marketed to the MTV generation.

I don't think I can judge whether or not Beals can actually act well on the basis of what I saw in "Flashdance". This is because the character she is forced to play is so poorly written, that I don't think it is a fair litmus test of her acting abilities.

You have to hand it to the makers of "Flashdance" though. This movie is proof that the poorest film making can be covered up by a slick marketing campaign. In this case a best selling and award winning soundtrack and music videos for said soundtrack in heavy rotation on MTV. If they had devoted more of their energy to the writing of the script, then they might have been able to come up with a plot and a story with characters that I cared about. Instead what we get are stock characters put in ridiculous scenes any viewer with a functioning brain can't take seriously. A truly forgettable "film".

This musical movie shows several unsuccessful people who had dreams that they eventually gave up on. We see a cook, who wishes to become a comedian and follows his dream to Los Angeles only who have his dream crushed. We also see a skater who follows her dream to skate in a big show, but falls several times causing her to give up on her dream.

We also see Hanna a former ballerina who never became the star, and is mentoring a young lady named Alex. Alex is played by Jennifer Beals, and is a welder working for Nick (Michael Nouri). Alex also works as a FlashDancer in a bar at night, expressing herself in various costume dances,to music in front of a large appreciative audience.

As Nick gets involved with Alex we find out her dream is to become a ballerina, but she has no ballerina training and is fearful of the judgment and possible rejection in auditing for a ballerina company. She also saw dreams of her friends being crushed by reality, and feels it will happen to her. There is a quite a internal struggle within Alex regarding the audition for the Ballerina company.

The power of Music is a key element in the movie. Alex's father once told her, "if you close your eyes you can see the music". This statement is key in the outcome in the movie. This meaning music can make you see, feel and sometimes do powerful things. There is an important scene done to the song "What A Feeling" a powerful uplifiting song.

Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) is a Pittsburgh steel welder by day and exotic dancer by night at Mawby's Bar. She dreams to be a ballet dancer but is too intimidated to apply. Her boss Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) falls for her. Her friend short order cook Richie (Kyle T. Heffner) wants to be a comic. Jeanie Szabo (Sunny Johnson) wants to be a competitive ice skater. Alex is hounded by Johnny C. (Lee Ving) to strip naked for his club. Jeanie fails as a skater. After Richie goes off to LA, he returns to find Jeanie going out and stripping for Johnny. She finds that Nick helped her get an audition. Her mentor Hanna Long (Lilia Skala) dies. All of it pushes her to go for her dreams.

Lobster has never been sexier. Cynthia Rhodes does a crazy dance and so does Beals' body double. They are all iconic dance scenes. There are some great 80s music. The movie screams 80s cheese but it's even better than that. There are some great scenes. Jeanie's progression is heart breaking. The older dancer (I believe it's Belinda Bauer) does a great speech about dreams fading away. This is not just good 80s cheese. It also has heart.

Love musicals. Love dramas. Love a lot of films from the 80s, despite being aware of some of my friends who consider it one of the weaker decades for film. While there are certainly far worse musicals, there are also far better. 'Flashdance' is not without its moments but overall left me not completely feeling it.

Where 'Flashdance' is most successful is in the soundtrack and dancing. The soundtrack is toe-tappingly infectious and is infused with a lot of energy. This is particularly so with "What a Feeling", wonderfully sung by Irene Cara, which won a worthy Oscar and became an iconic hit of the 80s. "Maniac" is a close second. The dance sequences are clearly strenuous, while also being high-octane in energy and having surprising grace.

That is not to say that it doesn't have other good things elsewhere. Adrian Lynne directs very well, capturing perfectly the post-disco visual mood and general atmosphere of the time. 'Flashdance' looks good too, being cleverly shot and atmospherically lit and designed.

However, the acting is really not great. Jennifer Beals seemed too lightweight for a pretty lewd character, and when showing a more aggressive, harder side it comes over as annoying and like she was uncomfortable doing it. She does fare better than Michael Nouri, whose character is obnoxious, bland and clichéd, all of those accentuated in Nouri's acting. If the rest of the cast are not being mentioned, it is because their contributions were not memorable.

'Flashdance's' script is a complete mess. Cliché-ridden, cheesy and often tasteless. The story is vastly overshadowed by the film's style, music and dancing, it is barely existent and what there is pretty dull and preposterous, too often the opposite of feel-good or charming while the sordid-ness also feels over the top. Nice message, if not exactly new, but the very frothy and severely underdeveloped romance belongs somewhere else entirely.

Overall, has good points but am not completely feeling it. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Verve, beauty, reality.

This is no cinematic epic but the story is electric. Small town gal breaks into a man's world while aspiring to be a dancer.

Romance, some Pittsburgh clips. (yep, i grew up around there.)

Great music, choreography. Makes me cry every time when I FEEL what this gal wants and I want her to get it. I had to buy this movie because I think it is very inspirational in an artistic way.

Obviously, this movie has "80's" written all over it. The plot is very thin, clichéd and predictable. The acting isn't really that strong either (but Jennifer Beals is soooo hot I can't believe it), nor are the characters. Sure, the characters are likable, but not very deeply developed. You pretty much don't know anything about the characters backgrounds, families or history in general. This movie isn't a masterpiece, but gosh darn it that soundtrack, the dancing and the whole feel of the movie is fantastic. If you are a grumpy person who thinks everything about the 80's was cheesy and lame, for the love of God don't watch this film (you might go out on a killing rampage if you do) However, if you are not a person like that, watch this film cause' it will make you feel awesome. It is a great feel-good romance flick with awesome grooves and great moves.

Give it a chance!

7/10