| 54 | | Cast : | Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers, Sela Ward, Breckin Meyer, Sherry Stringfield, Heather Matarazzo | | Director : | Mark Christopher | | Studio : | Miramax Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 28, 1998 | | DVD Released Date : | July 06, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | Sorry, But Disco (and 54) Were Actually FUN! | Content
 | I guess when any era becomes old enough for the "Nostaglia Craze" to hit, we get to see what exagerations get stretched to the point of lying. Case in point the 1950's were NOT such an innocent age, and the 1970's were NOT that wild.
Studio 54, and the Disco Era in general were about Freedom, Great Music, Great People Watching, and in general having a hell of a goodtime. For the brief period that it ruled the music charts, Disco broke down barriers, and the stars of certain musical genres were able to crossover. I often call 1979 "the year that music got close to the light".
My BIG issue with this movie is that It FAILED to show that for many of us we took advantage of the liberation of Disco's (like 54), and ENJOYED ourselves. It was glamorous, it was over the top, and IT WAS FUN. Amazing as it seems, many of us did not inhail cocaine like air, and for some of us who did indulge, we did not become adicts, or for that matter guilt ladden.
Clubs like Studio 54 were great palaces that broke down many barriers, and helped us escape the many issues facing the nation in the late 70's.
Too bad this movie did not convey it.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 24, 2005 | | Summary | Studio 54 | Content
| 54 is a movie starring Ryan Phillippe, Selma Hayak, Neve Campbell, and Mike Myers. The movie is obviously about Studio 54. While the movie was enjoyable, it could have been so much better. Like the review above states, where were the drugs, the sex, and the good music? Why didn't they focus more on the celebrities and beautiful people going to Studio 54? Instead they focus on the people who work there. It's still an interesting plot but it could have been better. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 04, 2005 | | Summary | I WAS THERE | Content
| Yup, I got into Studio 54 as an underage teenager just before Schrager and Rubell got busted. The direction and cinematography make this film a classic --- as close to being there as being chosen by doorman Mark Benecke out of a crowd a thousand deep. $15 cover charge in 1979! And you'd walk through the hall of mirrors like Ryan Phillippe, pass the coat check, and come upon that row of black doors, a gateway to the most fantastic party in your wildest dreams. I finally figured out one reason for the club's success -- with the undeclared cash income, the owners threw the most extravagant parties of all time, night after night. This film gives an inkling, an idea of the place, for history, though the real Studio 54 was neither as freakish or out of control as the film depicts. When you entered the place, you felt like you'd gone to heaven. After a while, it felt like home. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 19, 2004 | | Summary | Those Rockin' 70s, Where Are They Now? | Content
| It was the crazy 70s. Disco was king, the Bee Gees were holding center court, and Donna Summer was queen. Then there was club 54 where only the prettiest and best were allowed to enter. Liquor, sex, and drugs were always on the playlist and it became a staple of all the deviant behaviors of the era. The real star of this movie IS the music. It pulsates throughout the picture, giving it life in some of the dead spots. One amazing performance by Mike Meyers (Groovy Baby) as Steve was suprisingly overlooked. Meyers studied this character and had him down. He didn't even look like himself. If you miss the 70s/80s, put this on and go to the way-back machine. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 07, 2004 | | Summary | Music, dancing and decadence all lit up by stobe lighting | Content
| Remember Studio 54? And doesn't it seem a long time ago?
This was a dance club like no other in the late 1970s. The patrons were either celebrities or those chosen at the front door because they had the "look" of the beautiful people. Inside was a fantasy of dancing and drugs, all lit by strobe lighting. And, as it had formerly been a theater, there was a even balcony for those almost private moments of brief romantic encounters. The waiters and bartenders were all gorgeous young men and wore nothing but shorts and a bow tie. This is a story of one of these guys.
Ryan Phillips is cast in the role of Shane O'Shea, a 19 year old from New Jersey who yearns for a star-studded life. He's chosen at the door and is big eyed with wonder and desire. Eventually, he becomes a waiter and later is promoted to bartender. There are a lot of women. And there is a lot of money. He even gets his picture in a magazine. Everything comes easy for him but he really is interested in a New Jersey girl who's a rising soap opera star.
The best role in the film goes to Mike Myers, who plays the legendary Steve Rubell who made it all happen. He's a strange bird with an eccentric personality and he does a lot of drugs. The money rolls in and he is in trouble with the IRS. But he's so puffed up with his own importance that he even brags about it on TV. Eventually, he's arrested and the party ends. But before it does, the filmgoers are treated to a small view of what it was back then.
I found the story silly, but I loved the nostalgia. Here was the music and the lights and the feeling of decadence that characterized a time that no longer exists. I lived through that time period. I remember. And so for those who are curious and those who want to step into the past for an hour and a half, I recommended this 1998 film. |
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