Flashdance

Starring: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle T. Heffner, Lee Ving
Directed by: Adrian Lyne
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An exotic dancer (Jennifer Beals) dreams of going to ballet school.

Review:
Tim: I know that Flashdance was one of the highest grossing films of 1983 and a crowd-pleaser, but that doesn't mean it was a good movie. It fact, it's a pretty average movie all around. I really don't get the appeal (okay, I guess I see why) of this film. It might be famous, but it's a pretty lackluster movie all around.

I can't say I was ever really invested in the story. We have a woman who is a welder by day and a stripper by night (but apparently, it's a classy joint that doesn't have nudity, so it's okay). In addition to having a very full schedule already, she dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. I suppose she also wants to find love, although she seems resistant to that at the beginning of the movie. She has a lot going on. When you add in the effort it requires to take care of her friends (a friend who dreams of being a figure skater, another who dreams of being a comedian, and an elderly, former dancer), our protagonist has a completely full plate. It's somewhat exhausting to consider everything that's going on. The movie felt like it tried to do too much, so no one aspect ever got the full attention it deserved. For a film that's 95 minutes, they just crammed too much into the script. For example, there are just too many figure skating scenes. That subplot wasn't particularly interesting (I know it mirrored our protagonist's own story and shows her what happens when you give up your dreams), and it really only serves to move her friend into the 'sleazy' strip club, so she can get rescued. It's all just a little too much.

Jennifer Beals is okay in the lead role. She does bring a lot of charisma to the role and is fun to watch when her eyes are sparkling and she has energy. However, she didn't do the majority of the dancing and has far too much low-energy screen time. I could see the potential of her here, but it doesn't surprise me that so much of it went unrealized. Outside of Beals, the cast is pretty bad. Kyle T. Heffner was beyond annoying. Sunny Johnson did nothing for me. Michael Nouri was wooden and uninteresting. The cast really felt thrown together without much desire for real talent. That hurts the movie.

The dance scenes are pretty good and represent one of the stronger elements of the film. The music was good in a very 80's kind of way. It would have been better had Beals done more of her own dancing, but I get it. Dance movies always run the risk of looking incredibly absurd when the characters are really dancing all out, but I thought this film did a good job of presenting it.

The story really felt lackluster to me. It meandered along, and I was praying there would be some great conclusion to save the day. This never happens. The finale was weak and a bit anticlimactic. I'm sure some people love the final dance number. I thought it was fine, but it didn't really get me overly excited. It felt too similar to everything we'd seen before. Hey, I understand that this movie was a huge success in 1983. If people love it, great. As for me, I really don't see what all the fuss is about. This is an average movie through and through.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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