Dance Party (1988)

Dance Party: Directed by Mark Rosenthal. With Donovan Leitch Jr., Joe Pantoliano, Jennifer Runyon, Bruce Kirby. In the mid-60s, a teenage 4.0 high-school student is drawn out of his element on a dare by his peers, to become a dancer on popular TV music show.

“The first time I watched this movie, I knew from the beginningu0026#39;s great vintage clips of local dance programs that this movie was going to convey the fun feel of the early 60u0026#39;s. The u0026quot;In Crowdu0026quot; must have been written by people who really grew up in early 60u0026#39;s Philadelphia. Instead of a generic Hollywood u0026quot;retrou0026quot; feel, I saw a more distinctive, local atmosphere to this film. Joe Pantolianou0026#39;s u0026quot;Perry Parkeru0026quot; character is a dead-on reference to Phillyu0026#39;s own Jerry Blavat (a local radio legend) from his looks right down to his jive patter. The old Philly Dances (Mickeyu0026#39;s Monkey, the Soul Street) are performed fantastically by the dancers to overlooked soul/dance classics that would be considered obscure anywhere else. Even the local u0026quot;clash of classesu0026quot; is well-represented in the charactersu0026#39; respective areas; Del and Gail from Cheltenhamu0026#39;s conservative, upper-middle-class area, and the gritty, streetwise but lovable characters from the urban Philly areas (the tv station scenes were shot in and around Upper Darbyu0026#39;s Tower Theatre). One of my favorite scenes is when Del is upstairs in his typical 60u0026#39;s teenage boyu0026#39;s room, attempting to pick up Phillyu0026#39;s u0026quot;WIBG Radio 99u0026quot; on his little transistor radio. You can even hear classic dj Hy Litu0026#39;s famous u0026quot;Hyski Ou0026#39;Roonie McVoughty Ou0026#39;Zootu0026quot; jingle amidst the static. And what Philadelphia native doesnu0026#39;t remember the old Wildwood radio record hops u0026quot;down the shoreu0026quot; in the 60u0026#39;s? And lots of kids snuck out of school early then, to try to get on the local dance programs. Ok, so this film may not have been Oscar material, but it truly makes me feel good every time I see it; it brings back so many good feelings from that era, and showcases great 60u0026#39;s Philly music.”