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Did you know The Village People were in a loose biopic about their band origin? Well, it’s not very good, but it found some form of an audience in recent years, not just from fans of said musical group but also of campy early 80’s schlock. Can’t Stop the Music focuses on an aspired record manager Jack Morell (Steve Guttenberg) who forms the disco band called The Village People. However, because New York City record deals don’t sit well for band members dressed in silly costumes like a Native American, a construction worker, a leatherhead, and a policeman, they move to San Francisco and become an instant sensation. Meanwhile, there’s a love triangle of sorts between Steve, the Marrakech Records agent (Paul Sand), Sam, a former model who contributes with the band (Valerie Perrine), and Ron, a St. Louis lawyer (Caitlyn Jenner). Despite being enjoyable in camp (especially with the Village People tunes), Can’t Stop the Music doesn’t have much of a complete coherent narrative, most of the comedic scenes go nowhere, and the song sequences seemed to be littered sporadically and go on for too long, unlike the ones from All That Jazz. On top of that, Caitlyn Jenner comes off as a ham from start to finish, always pushing his/her emotions in the most notorious manners, whether getting robbed by an old woman, breaking up with Sam, or having soup spilled on his/her legs. Screenwriter and producer Allan Carr proudly claimed him/her as the next Ann Margret or Robert Redford, but Jenner obviously can’t compete with any SAG-level of talent even on a track race. The main purpose of this movie is to promote Village People songs and capitalize further on their success without adding much substance. While these songs are catchy, the rest of the movie isn’t.
(1 ½ Milkshakes with Native American headdresses out of 5)
