Flashdance (1983)

Flashdance: Directed by Adrian Lyne. With Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson. A Pittsburgh woman with two jobs as a welder and an exotic dancer wants to get into ballet school.

“So hereu0026#39;s this movie u0026quot;Flashdanceu0026quot; which has been staring me in the face for years, both in pop culture for over half of my life and on the video rental store shelves, and yet Iu0026#39;ve never gotten around to checking it out until now.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was fifteen when this movie was first out and popular. I heard the soundtrack, of course, and loved it to pieces… but I had never been able to watch the movie because it was rated R.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI had grown up having it be, in an odd sort of way, both a part of my life and at the same time *not* a part of my life. I was familiar with its music, images, and even its basic plot outline, but had never seen the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd as an adult, I felt extremely dubious about checking it out. Over the years, I had heard that people either loved it to pieces or hated it. Iu0026#39;ve heard critics both call it uplifting and fun while others called it nothing more than a string of glittering little music videos strung together on an extremely thin strand of plot (a creation device for a LOT of MTV-era movies such as u0026quot;Top Gunu0026quot;, u0026quot;Footlooseu0026quot; and u0026quot;Purple Rainu0026quot;).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTo add to my confusion about whether or not I should give it a try, I had had the same experience with u0026quot;Saturday Night Feveru0026quot;: I grew up loving the soundtrack to pieces but having never seen the movie… and when I finally did I felt utter disappointment at first, discovering the film to be far darker than expected. Oh sure, I later liked u0026quot;Feveru0026quot; okay (actually, I should use the term u0026quot;appreciatedu0026quot;) but still preferred the gorgeous soundtrack to the actual film that was the basis for its existance.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWould I have the same experience with u0026quot;Flashdanceu0026quot;?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTonight, I finally decided to, as one character in the film puts it, u0026quot;hold my breath and take the plungeu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs it turns out, I found it to be a surprisingly charming, entertaining and uplifting film. I was fearing it to be something raunchy, but at it turns out it has a very special, starry-eyed sweet innocence that is difficult to define.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe performance of the equally starry-eyed and innocent Jennifer Beals helps, of course. She brings a wide-eyed sparkle and hopefulness to her role, plus a determination to keep her life on the right track precisely as she feels it ought to go without any major morality screwups, and this adds a wonderful flavour of hope and childlike wonder to her character Alex that just simply grows on you.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, it IS true that there are a few flaws here and there, and a couple of editing flaws as well. Plus, the other characters arenu0026#39;t really as developed as hers (but they are developed just enough to demonstrate to her personally the various dos and donu0026#39;ts regarding attitudes to have while pursuing a dream, voices for her to observe and learn from representing both directions). But none of that matters because the film has a charm all its own. Looking at it today, I can easily see why so many out there loved it: its a beautiful and very encouraging little film. It has a heroine whom anybody could relate with and like; it has wonderful music in it; it has a delicate and lighthearted touch to it which, language and a couple of scenes aside (such as the filmu0026#39;s most heartbreaking scene in which Alex saves a desperate friend from throwing life away in a strip joint (a sequence which only lasts about two minutes long–but itu0026#39;s sad and disturbing, not u0026quot;Oooh, letu0026#39;s put this in to grab male members of the audience!u0026quot;–which is most likely the only ingredient to earn the film its R rating)), is nevertheless still so pure and true that it could have come straight out of a u0026#39;70s-made Walt Disney Productions movie (!!!); itu0026#39;s touching and moving… and, of course, it has dance sequences which are fun to watch.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn other words, it was a comforting and uplifting movie released during a time when people, youngsters with career goals in particular, needed one. And if anything, folks still need movies like that out today. Itu0026#39;s a happy little film with a happy ending which isnu0026#39;t overdone or unconvincing, and precisely the sort of flick which should be perscribed to those suffering severe depression. Heaven knows that I myself certainly felt encouraged about my own career and life in particular after watching it!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt might not be for everybody, but if the above description Iu0026#39;ve written voices the sort of movie you personally enjoy then do yourself a big favour and give it a try. Chances are that if you are as naturally starry-eyed and hopeful as Alex is–and believe me, *I* certainly am–then you will easily relate to this delightful little fable.”