54 DVD (Region 1)

6.8	Listal rating

Manufacturer : Miramax
Release date : 17 August 1999
Number of discs : 1
EAN : 9780788815102
UPC : 071795100183

Drama (2), 1998 (2), Spindle 1 (1), Disc 38 (1), English Subtitles (1), Sela Ward (1), Cameron Mathison (1), Disco (1), Sherry Stringfield (1), Closed Captioned (1), Ryan Phillippe (1), Breckin Meyer (1), 1970s (1), 1990s (1), Mike Myers (1), Nudity (1), Salma Hayek (1), Neve Campbell (1), Heather Matarazzo (1)

Description

DescriptionHot Hollywood stars Mike Myers (AUSTIN POWERS 2: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, WAYNE'S WORLD), Neve Campbell (WILD THINGS, SCREAM 1,2&3), and Salma Hayek (WILD, WILD WEST, DOGMA) give must-see performances in this provocative look behind the bright lights of the hottest nightclub ever! When Steve Rubell (Myers), the mastermind behin Description
Hot Hollywood stars Mike Myers (AUSTIN POWERS 2: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, WAYNE'S WORLD), Neve Campbell (WILD THINGS, SCREAM 1,2&3), and Salma Hayek (WILD, WILD WEST, DOGMA) give must-see performances in this provocative look behind the bright lights of the hottest nightclub ever! When Steve Rubell (Myers), the mastermind behind New York's infamous STUDIO 54 disco, plucks young Shane O'Shea (Ryan Phillippe, GOSFORD PARK, CRUEL INTENTIONS) from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, Shane not only gets his foot in the door ... but lands a coveted job behind the bar! By following Shane's rapid rise from naive busboy to the notorious nightspot's sexy main attraction, you're allowed an unforgettable look at the spectacular rise and fall of Steve Rubell's decadent empire! An entertaining hit that pulses with the best dance music of the era, 54 is not just your ticket inside this legendary place ... it places you at the very epicenter of the greatest party on Earth!

Saturday Night Fever it's not--call it more like Sunday Morning Leftovers. This portrait of the legendary Manhattan disco and its colorful cofounder, Steve Rubell, plays like the outtakes of a much more interesting film--where's the sex, the drugs, the classic disco music? (It shouldn't surprise viewers that Miramax and writer-director Mark Christopher had a falling-out over the final cut of the film; Miramax prevailed.) Considering that the essence of Studio 54 was about the rich and beautiful, it seems a bit unwise to focus on the poor and only-somewhat-beautiful, namely Shane (Ryan Phillippe), a Jersey boy who gets taken in by the razzle-dazzle of the disco era. Crossing the river, Shane finds another, more exciting life at Studio 54 as a shirtless bartender, and soon finds himself partying with the crème de la crème--and smitten with comely soap star Julie (Neve Campbell). The permutations of the story are familiar; if you've never seen VH1's Behind the Music documentary take on Studio 54 you'll find this film enjoyable, but unlike that exhaustive portrait, too many elements are missing. Most of Phillippe's performance seems to have ended up on the cutting-room floor (although his chiseled torso gets maximum exposure), Campbell's role is basically a glorified cameo, and Breckin Meyer and Salma Hayek, as Phillippe's only true pals, are wasted. The one true gem of the film, though, is Mike Myers's take on the late Steve Rubell, an inspired high-wire performance that balances humor and tragedy without ever giving in to camp or pathos. Had this been a more well-received movie, he'd be remembered come Oscar time--his drunken proposition of Philippe is a minor treasure. The soundtrack does feature some unknown chestnuts and a few new remixes, including an inspired disco version of--believe it or not--Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind." --Mark Englehart

... (more)

Directed by :