Até que Enfim é Sexta-Feira

OK, true, it's dated, and shows its age, and this movie is far from a classic. What the hell?, see it anyway!!. This movie took place at a long gone disco in Los Angeles (Osco's), a favorite hangout of mine back when I lived in L.A. Even though the story is a bit far-fetched, its the DANCING, and MUSIC that brings this movie alive.

This is a fun movie, about a fun almost hedonistic period (remember, this was pre AIDS), when pretty much life was about just having a good time.

The one thing I remember most about the disco period is this: There seemed to be very few lines that divided, the rich, poor, black, white, latin..you name it... we all went to the same clubs, and listened to the same music. This is something you'll see represented in this movie, this cast was about a group of people that in todays society, would hardly be seen on the same street.

The group I'd recommend seeing this film now? young people around 15 to 25, maybe give them a little more focus as to why their parents are so weird!!!

After a while, you do realize that this automatic time-capsule movie doesn't have much of a story, but it does have a variety of subplots wrapped up in a trim hour and a half. Basically, "Thank God It's Friday" is a one-night-in-the-life-of-a-disco-palace type of deal, involving a smorgasbord of characters. There are two under-age girls (Valerie Landsburg and future Berlin singer Terri Nunn) itching to enter the big dance contest, a married couple (Mark Lonow and Andrea Howard) out for a night on the town (against his wishes), the womanizing club owner (Jeff Goldblum), a nice but klutzy girl (Debra Winger) looking for a nice guy, and the harried DJ (Ray Vitte) being pestered by an aspiring singer (real-life disco queen Donna Summer). And there's a concert performance by Lionel Richie and the Commodores!

Is "Thank God It's Friday" a "good" movie in any sense? Not really, but it does provide a fair amount of amusement in its very dated way. Everything about it just screams the late 1970s, from the fashions to the tunes. Its episodic nature prevents us from getting too annoyed, since there are some characters, like Dave (Lonow) and Gus (Chuck Sacci) who wear out their welcome *quickly*. The soundtrack is fun to listen to, and Donna does belt out the number "Last Dance" which actually won an Oscar for Best Song. The performances range from even-keeled (Winger is quite appealing) to unpleasantly hammy (Sacci plays such a jerk, that you can't help but cheer when he gets slugged). Chick Vennera is quite a hoot as a veteran disco dancer who swears by his leather wardrobe. And DeWayne Jessie (a.k.a. Otis Day) shows off his talents by playing a van driver who's trying to get to the nightspot in time to deliver to the Commodores their instruments.

One of the writers of "Last Dance" was actor / songwriter Paul Jabara, who plays the guy who gets stuck backstage.

You just *know* that this one is going to show you some goofy entertainment with its spin on the Columbia Pictures logo sequence.

Five out of 10.

Every late 70's disco stereotype is well represented, including a brief shot of a working 8-Track tape player. Want a funny flashback? Grab this one. (Want an Oscar-caliber movie? Get something else.) But then, where else can you get Donna Summer, The Commodores AND Jeff Goldblum all in the same film?

THANK GOD IT'S Friday was released just as the disco craze crested, when anything and everything might happen during a night on the town, when sex was casual, and drink and drugs were still regarded in a lighthearted manner, and music wailed and blared with the likes of Gloria Gaynor and K.C. & the Sunshine Band. Within a few years Disco would be publicly declared dead--but it still lives on in the recordings... and in Donna Summer's screen image of the Disco Diva, shimmering in the spotlight beneath the mirror ball with a hibiscus tucked into her hair as she belts out her megaton hit, "Last Dance."

TGIF is best regarded as a cultural artifact, an attempt to show everything that was shiny about the Disco world without any reference to its down sides of sexually transmitted diseases, next-morning-hangovers, and serious drug addictions. The story is slight: a disco is hosting a big dance contest, and every one arrives at the door with personal ambitions. There is, of course, the singer who hopes to hit it big; two underage teen girls hot to be Disco Queens; a sweet young thing who hates polyester and is looking for Mr. Right in the wrong place; and a ladykiller looking to score his next victim. The film is most memorable for the look of the disco, which is the real star of the film, and the cast, which includes several performers on their way up: Jeff Goldblum as the lady killer; Deborah Winger as the anti-polyester good girl; and of all people a very, very young Terri Nunn, who would later score big as the front singer for the band Berlin.

There are all the usual running gags, and as a whole the film is only mildly entertaining. But then Donna Summer steps into the spotlight--and for a few moments everything that was magic about Disco lives and breathes again. For what it is--an incredibly light, mindless bit of tinsel--the film is well done, but it has an extremely limited appeal for a contemporary audience. Unless you were actually part of the disco scene and want to revisit old memories, you're better off catching it on the late-late show. But my oh my... wasn't Donna Summer something special!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

If you like multi character movies, this will not disapoint. The mainly unknown cast are all rather likeable folks. and Paul Jabara is very good in his only screen role. YOu will be touched by the scene of him and a lovley young girl who are locked in a stairway but end up boogooing anyway. I especially love the plot about the fat guy and the tall thin schoolteacher who are mismatched by a dating service. Except for a few drug scenes, this is a terrific family picture, too. And the best you will ever see Debra Winger on screen. She looks soft and pretty. The music is very good, strong voices and tunes, much better than the dance music of the last 20 years. Check out this movie for some good light entertainment.