Studio 54

The studio executives who ruined the first release version of this film in 1998 have a lot to answer for, but the director has had the last word and proved he was right all along, with the new Director's Cut (which I saw at the Sydney Film Festival tonight), which is an ENTIRELY different and improved experience. From now on, I don't think there should be any reason for anyone to watch the original release version again, the improvement is that dramatic. The one aspect that may irritate some viewers is that a few of the 'new' scenes have slightly lower image & sound quality than the rest of the film, as they obviously weren't able to find perfect quality footage for every restored scene, and the editing between some scenes doesn't always feel entirely smooth. And some weaknesses in the film still remain - such as Ryan Philippe, who is a bit limp despite being more than pretty enough for the role. But in so many other ways this is a far far better film, taking a film I'd only have rated maybe a 4 in the past, to at least a 7 now. About 40% of the film feels entirely changed, all for the better. There's a lot more life to the nights at the club, now that they've been able to put back the sex & drugs the studio removed (no movie about 1980-era disco makes any sense once you remove them). The parties are wild and bisexual and very disco. And the whole direction of the drama has been altered, now that the dull studio-imposed romance with Neve Campbell has been removed. Neve is still there in a small role, but the film now focuses on Ryan's love triangle with Salma Hayek & Breckin Meyer instead, which is far more interesting. Everyone who worked on the film should be happy with the Director's Cut, which proves they were making something pretty decent (until the studio stuffed it up).

One does not usually expect a popular movie to be much good, namely because it caters to the tastes of a crowd, which are notoriously un-demanding. Rarely, however, one finds a film which delivers on its promises. This, fortunately, was one of these films. The acting was the high point of the film. Mike Myers wore his role like a skin, naturally and easily. Ryan Phillippe proved that despite occasional bursts of negative popular opinion he is more than a simple dime-a-dozen pretty boy, and possesses both skill and talent, both of which are put to good use. (And he is good looking, which despite all else, never hurts. But, let's not belabor the obvious). The filming was excellently done, with a good eye towards shock and an occasional shot of strangely unexpected beauty. The only real objection one could put to this film is that it was far too short. Several sub-plots came up which were either abandoned or underdeveloped, and the ending, while highly effective, had a slight air of "deus ex machina" about it. On the whole, though, a talented, unusually intelligent film with excellent actors and direction. Well worth watching.

Why the poor box office performance? Why the bad reviews? Why the bad word of mouth? I really didn't see anything horrible about this movie! First of all, it's a character-driven story. There's little subplots involving jealousy and philandering, but it's not handled in a soapy fashion. I didn't feel any of the characters were one-dimensional.

Of course, Mike Myers steals the show as the homosexual club owner Steve Rubell. I don't know the real Steve Rubell, so you be the judge whether or not his performance was accurate, but I have to say that Myers did an incredible job! And I'm not overstating the least bit! You watch him in this movie and you totally forget that this is the same guy who played Austin Powers. Not to say I didn't realize Myers had talent prior to watching this film. He has definitely proven that he has talent as a comic actor, but I didn't know he had the chops to pull off a straight, dramatic role. Even his accent sounds real, not the least bit phony. I'm surprised Myers didn't even get an Oscar nod. He should've at least gotten the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Trust me--you will be blown away by his performance in this movie!

The music is great. It's always great to reminisce to the great songs from the seventies. Mark Christopher nicely captured the whole rebellious atmosphere of 54. We're given a taste of the drug addiction and even the sexual promiscuity that made the place famous--there's a scene where a couple shamelessly pounds away on the balcony. I read one person's review, saying that this movie should've been an hour longer. I find it ironic that people watch movies that are two and a half to three hours long and complain, "Oh, this movie dragged! Oh, this movie needed more editing!" Yet they watch a succintly timed film like this and complain it's too short. This may not have been the most thorough examination of the famous nightclub, but I think it got to the point. No reason why we have to go into every tiny detail.

This is a serious, dramatic film but it's also very entertaining. I actually had a smile on my face when the movie ended. It ended on a happy note without having that forced, schmaltzy Hollywood feel. Plus, I really like that song "Knock on Wood" that they played over the credits.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

While the acting is pretty dull in this movie, Mike Myers proved that he can handle serious drama. Shortly after this movie came out, it was rumored that Mike Myers would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for playing the Studio 54 owner. I would have strongly agreed with this nomination, and I only recommend 54 to anyone curious about the serious side of Mike Myers.

The director's cut is much more interesting, definitely.