Movie Notes: Xanadu
= 3 stars
Starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck
Directed by Robert Greenwald
Synopsis
Commercial artist Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) is frustrated with his work, until one day he’s inspired by roller-skating blonde, Kira (Olivia Newton-John). Together with Sonny’s friend Danny (Gene Kelley), they embark on a dream to build a night club.
The Good
- Much amusement seeing Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton John essentially in their element — a cheesy musical.
- This is one instance where the soundtrack, featuring ELO and Olivia Newton John, is fifty times better than the movie itself.
- Retro-pop culture extravaganza. I guess there really was a time when adults roller-skated in tube socks, and skin-tight polyester jogging shorts with aloha shirts was considered fashionable.
- The plot is comically uber-innocent — a waify roller skating muse arrives from nowhere and a silly artist falls for her.
The Bad
- Animated wipes with synthesizer sound effects and back light are used for nearly every transition. You feel like your head is shoved between a neon bar light and a jukebox — stuck permanently playing ELO.
- While the music is usually entertaining, their visual depiction is sometimes rather dull — either because of the dancing, crazy costumes, or the dated special effects. Even an animated sequence done by Don Bluth feels off.
Conclusion
Cheesy beyond belief, but of some interest to retro musical fans and where all those crappy clothes in Goodwill came from. About 25% falls into the realm of the unintentionally funny. The rest, sadly, is rather a snooze.
IMDB: Xanadu
Wikipedia: Xanadu
Rotten Tomatoes: Xanadu
“Xanadu: where time stops and the magic never ends.”
No matter how much you wish it would.
Oh. My. Unhappy blast from the past. I *may* own this soundtrack on cassette. Somewhere. I’ll have to find it and destroy it. Like, now.
If you fell asleep during the trailer, I doubt you’ll make it through the
movie.
I actually liked some of the tunes. I may hit the iTunes and download some
of ‘em. I’d ask you for the cassette, but I have no way of playing it — our
players were destroyed along with all the tapes…
If I can FIND the cassette in my large box of them I can iMic it onto my
MacBook for you. Haven’t had time to look yet.
I confess. I’m too young to know the film, and I haven’t seen it before. But my father LOVES it!
And now I’m scared… :S
[…] — the 1970 flick Toomorrow (the spelling is correct), which I first learned of while reviewing Xanadu. It also features Olivia Newton-John but instead of roller skates and ELO, features space aliens […]