Staying Alive ** (1983, John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes) – Classic Movie Review 7284

Director/co-writer Sylvester Stallone’s 1983 romantic musical drama Staying Alive comes up with a sequel to Saturday Night Fever for John Travolta, best described as Rocky meets A Chorus Line. It was a Golden Globe nominee for Best Original Song – Motion Picture for the song ‘Far from Over’ by Frank Stallone and Vince DiCola.

Five years after the original story, Travolta’s character Tony Manero is now trying to hit the big time on Broadway as a dancer, living a run-down hotel in Manhattan and Staying Alive by working as a dance instructor and a dance club waiter, while romancing both the charming Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes) and the bitchy, stuck-up dancer Laura (Finola Hughes).

Even if the script and music (by Johnny Mandel, Robin Gibb and Sly’s brother Frank Stallone) cannot in any way match the classic original, Travolta is still an appealing, energetic star, the production is slick, commercial and frenetic, some of the songs are catchy, and some of the dancing, especially in the kitsch Satan’s Alley finale, is exhilarating.

Also in the cast are Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, Frank Stallone and Joyce Hyser.

Poor Finola Hughes was a double Razzie nominee as Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7284

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