THE AISLE SEAT

"54:" Dreary Disco Dud

by Bryan Powers

G21 Film Reviewer

Event #133: Not Your Grandfather's Web Magazine. DAY ONE: TODAY: ROD AMIS prognosticates on the (re-scheduled) Unamerican.com interview. THE AISLE SEAT: BRYAN POWERS reviews "54." TABLOID HART: The King of Dish waxes philosophical? Egads! YOUR VOX POPULI page gets a new update. More e-mails from Loyal Rooters. HOT LINKS(Not From Louisiana): RADIO RAHEEM expands our Link Partners Program, by welcoming new Partners from around the globe. Planetary Madness: JENNIFER BLUE looks at your horoscope for this week. THE FIRST TIME: A reader shares his story. G21 SPORTS: KO is back with the second of his NFL predictions for this season. This week: THE NFC. POWERSBOOKS: BOB POWERS reviews a new tome by EKNATH EASWARAN, GARY WEBB's "Dark Alliance", and "C'mere, Kitty" by ALAN KATZ. ON DRUGS: ADAM SMITH challenges the law of the land in "One in Thirty-Five." SEA OF DREAMS: We have a winner! The first winner of ZenCyn's Dream Interpretation Contest is featured. DON'T READ ME FIRST! Our Publisher gives the skinny on our largest weekly kick-off ever. LAST WEEK's EDITION For rapid response, use The Message Board The Main Event HOME

NEW YORK - Two films have surfaced this year with plots centering on the decadent days of disco and Studio 54. Unfortunately, the definitive film about Studio 54 has yet to be made. First there was Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco," a film that became enjoyable only when the viewer gave up on the idea that it had anything to do with '70's disco, much less the real-life details of Studio 54. Now Miramax releases its "54," the feature film debut by writer and director Mark Christopher. While "Last Days" overcame its faults by having an intelligent script with well-developed characters, "54" doesn't have much of anything to make-up for its shortcomings.

A Jersey boy dreams of crossing the river and gaining access to the most exclusive club in New York City. He does. He aspires to become one of the club's famous bartenders. He does. He dreams of getting close with a hot soap opera star. He does this, too. In a script both predictable and safe, Christopher fails to supply the excitement or spontaneity that "54" desperately needs. The audience witnesses a few moments of debauchery supposedly to shock us into believing that 54, the dance club, was the most hedonistic place ever. But since the media convinced us of this years ago, it takes more than a snippet of sex in the balcony, or a pill-popping grandma dancing the night away to flesh out this idea.

"54's" plot tiptoes around the intriguing facts of club-master Steve Rubell's kingdom and his eventual dethroning. That would be okay if the script provided something even more interesting to watch, such as three-dimensional characters or a story not derailed by becoming a morality tale. What made the real Studio 54 so popular? We don't get an answer. And the eventual judgment placed on its drug- and sex-loving characters gives one the feeling that Nancy Reagan may have been an uncredited screenwriter. While the original party-goers of Studio 54 might be dead or still fucked up from drug habits, one expects this film to illustrate how exhilarating it must have been living in the moment at the disco. Dancing and doing drugs are fun to the people doing them. This film doesn't capture those moments. "54" seems less like a feature film and more like a Showtime or HBO movie. Although films produced for those premium channels take more risks than "54" does.

Even its soundtrack fails to make one want to put on platforms and hit the dance floor. Were all the good songs already taken by "The Last Days of Disco" and "Boogie Nights"? The film's soundtrack has been released in two volumes, but where are the great disco anthems? They may be on the CDs, but they're not in the movie.

One highlight in an otherwise forgettable flick is Mike Myers' portrayal of 54's habitually droopy-eyed ruler Steve Rubell. Although one note shy of being a caricature, Myers' performance conveys more than just the surface eccentricities of Rubell. Myers just might have an acting career beyond "Austin Powers."

Salma Hayek does her best with what little she's given. Her character's climatic moment is a poorly choreographed club performance cut short by a shift in focus to the disco granny's antics. Way too much screen time is given to this unbelievable old lady, played by the rapping granny from "The Wedding Singer." Focus on this character is a dramatic device that just doesn't work.

Ryan Phillippe (I Know What You Did Last Summer) plays the central role of Shane O'Shea, the Jersey boy with a dream. In what was expected to be a career launching role, Phillippe's character travels a fairly straight line emotionally. There are few levels for the actor to play and no stand-out moments that could make this his breakthrough. While his remarkable performance earlier this year in the unseen indie "Little Boy Blue" proves that this kid has talent, "54" doesn't give him the chance to shine. Matt Damon and Leonardo D'Caprio must be breathing sighs of relief.

Ultimately, "54" is an enjoyable film for the uncritical who don't expect too much. If you seek a peek at what really went on behind the velvet ropes of the infamous New York disco, watch VH1's Studio 54 documentary, a part of their "Behind the Music" series. If you want to see a film that aspires to be the next "Saturday Night Fever" and falls short, go see "54."

Grade: D for Disappointing

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