Opening Notes:
With the dawn of the new Millennium nearly at hand, nostalgia’s all the rage these days in the media. With the 70’s making somewhat of a comeback in popularity, it’s only natural that Hollywood would turn out another “Disco-era” film. Prior to seeing the new film, 54, I expected to see a bootleg version of the 70’s classic Saturday Night Fever. However, while not quite as good as the John Travolta classic, 54 more than held it’s own, exceeding my personal expectations.

The Cast:
Ryan Phillippe (I Know What You Did Last Summer) stars as Shane O’Shea, a small-time New Jersey 20-something with dreams of “getting out of Jersey.” Looking through a gossip tabloid, he sees a picture and article about Soap Opera Star Julie Black (played by Neve Campbell of Scream, Party of Five). The article explains how she had been frequenting the hot New York City club Studio 54. He and some friends head for the club, where Shane is allowed in, while his friends are denied admittance. Mike Myers (Wayne’s World, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) plays hedonistic club owner Steve Rubell, who, based on his whims and fancies, allows certain people access to the club while denying others. Salma Hayek (Desperado, Fools Rush In) and Breckin Meyer (Clueless, Can’t Hardly Wait) portray Anita and Greg, a married couple that work at the club and become Shane’s closest friends.

The Plot:
The story is centered on Shane O’Shea, following him as he rises up the social ladder at Studio 54. After his first night there, Shane realizes he can’t go back to his old life in New Jersey, nor does he want to. He gets a job at the club as a busboy and quickly earns a promotion to the coveted position of bartender. The audience is told within the movie that bartenders always score the best drugs and chicks. There are several subplots within the movie that, had they been more developed, might have turned out to be more interesting than the main storyline. Among the more intriguing secondary stories were Rubell’s skimming money from the club to avoid paying taxes on it and Greg’s theft of the club’s money to try and help his wife get a recording contract.

The Good:
Mike Myers was excellent in this movie as the God-like owner of the club. Myers takes the serious role and makes the viewer forget his comedic efforts. His performance in this film s comparable to the dramatic turn taken by Jim Carrey in The Truman Show although to a lesser degree. Still, I would not be surprised to see Myers take more dramatic roles, as he seems to excel in them as much as in his humorous ones.

The rest of the cast gives above average performances, although the script is a bit lacking at times; the actors do the best with what they are given. The soundtrack to the film is top-notch (as far as disco music is concerned), bringing out some of the best “old school” disco tracks.

The Bad:
The movie begins slowly, but, by the 20-minute mark, had picked up the pace significantly. There isn’t anything really bad about the film, except that the lighting is bad in parts. However, set in a dim 70’s disco club, I’m sure that the lighting was pretty true to life.

The Ugly:
The worst part of the movie was the excessive drug use. Of particular note was the 70 year old woman (affectionately known as “Disco Dottie” by her friends at the club) who is seen taking all sorts of drugs through the movie. When she dies on the dance floor due to an overdose, not only is it a troublesome image to see her convulsing, but it’s also a disturbing depiction of the entire era.

Closing Notes:
Overall, this movie left me with a weird feeling. I enjoyed it, but it was neither a great movie, nor a terrible one. I must say it’s good to see a movie that’s not just $100 million dollars worth of special effects; it seems as though that’s all that gets filmed anymore. Although this movie wasn’t super, it was an enjoyable two hours, with Mike Myers’ performance alone is worth the price of admission.

On a scale of 1 to 4 (with 4 being classic and 1 being Rock and Roll High School), I give this movie a 2.5, not as good as Saturday Night Fever, but a lot better then I’d have expected it to be.

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