Flashdance: Em Ritmo de Embalo

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.

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 Flashdance is a very outdated movie that has never appealed to most film critics, so I felt this was sufficiently unusual to justify an attempted explanation.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

Jennifer Beals stars as Alex Owens a welder by day and a dancer by night, who dreams of going to a ballet school. She really wants to make her dreams reality but is to nervous to audition. With a little encouragement and help from her good friend Hannah Long (Lilia Skala.) and her boyfriend/boss, Nick Hurley. (Michael Nouri.) she finally does audition. And, what an audition it was. The dance sequence at the end was brilliant. Flashdance is a great film full of fun music, (Including Irene Cara's hit song, "Flashdance, What a feeling".) great dancing and just lots of fun. Flashdance is an instant classic. I give it a 10/10.

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.