The tagline for “Flashdance” should be: Songs Girl Dances to Better than Movie Girl Stars in. Harsh words coming from me, a self-proclaimed 80’s junkie, but sadly they are true.
There is something mystical about the video quality from the past, and we do get some beautiful images of the setting – 1983 Pittsburgh. Alex (Jennifer Beals) is a welder by day, and a dancer by night, with an unheralded passion to become a ballerina. She lives in an enviable loft which is clearly out of her price range, and despite being alone in said loft, practices dancing in a seductive and sultry style.
Jennifer Beals does have a breathtaking beauty that isn’t hamstrung by the hair and wardrobe of her character. She looks right at home up on the stage of a local bar called Mawby’s where she intersects with fellow cabaret performers, as well as in skimpy clothes drenched in water as she gyrates sensually around her loft. The film was released just 2 years after the launch of MTV and its obvious it was made for that generation’s eyes and ears.
FLASHDANCE, Jennifer Beals, 1983, (c) Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
“Flashdance” is only 97 minutes long, and you’ll feel every minute of it as we slowly progress through Alex’s day job where she’s behind the disguise of a welding mask and her dancing gig at night where she draws the attention of a much older gent (Michael Nouri) who also happens to be her boss in a pre Me Too time.
The plot is, simply put, absurd, and the outcome is nothing short of completely dull. Amazing songs like “Maniac,” “Gloria,” and the titular “(Flashdance) What a Feeling” are peppered throughout, and by the end you’ll want to download the soundtrack while simultaneously burning all copies of the film. Jennifer Beals does a good job, and the songs save it from being an abject failure. But the boring story and terrible pacing make it a relic that should stay buried in the past.
Grab the soundtrack but skip this movie.
