Flashdance

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 Flashdance is a very outdated movie that has never appealed to most film critics, so I felt this was sufficiently unusual to justify an attempted explanation.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.

Sure, Flashdance will never make the AFI's Top 100, but it has an infectious charm. Jennifer Beals is really only so-so in the leading role, and her leading man Michael Nouri is no better off, but it doesn't matter. What does matter here is the great music! Really, the whole film is played like a 90-minute ad for MTV! Laugh at the dopey plot and listen to the great tunes. Great film to earmark the 80s.

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.

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.

Although I've long known, generally speaking, what this movie is about, I never saw it when it came out in 1983 or 1984, because I was too busy "living" the 80's (yeah, right, whatever that means!). But I just saw it recently, in its entirety, the other night on TV.

I don't know, maybe it's the current sorry state of affairs of the world today that made me want to watch this film, just so I could revisit the "happy days(?)" of the eighties, when, although the world was also in a sorry state of affairs, at least there was an underlying pretense of hope and glory, a pervasive (albeit childlike) adherence to the belief that wishes DO sometimes come true, miracles CAN happen, and for every ugly frog there IS a beautiful princess waiting to kiss him...

This movie sucks, bigtime... but it also rocks! And that, people, is the honest to God truth. This movie is so bad it reeks of the stench of the very phoney-baloney on which it is based (and we all know how awful THAT is). BUT, it also rocks you to your very soul, and hey, how can you possibly fault a movie that dares to offer people (and not just young people, but ALL people) that little thing called HOPE???

I hope you don't take my "critique" the wrong way... Honestly, I don't think the movie is really all that good, but the message, and the feeling, and the spirit of this movie, are all very wonderful and infectious indeed and should NOT be discounted. It makes it a wonderful movie. Strange, isn't it? If those of you reading this are parents with up-and-coming kids, make them sit through this film!! Make them watch it!! I guarantee you, at least there is not a single scene in it where some teenager just HAS to have sex with a baked pastry object!!

Finally, let me comment on the fact that many in filmdom have dissed Jennifer Beals over the fact that a stand-in dancer performed various or several of her dance segments. Well let me just mention, that at the very end of the film, in the credit roll, there is a disclaimer that states: "The people and events in this film are fictional. Any similarity to actual people or events is unintentional." So, with this in mind… a stunt double performed some of the dance steps!?? I was shocked, shocked to find that stunt doubles are used in Hollywood!!