Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Review Date: April 30th, 2022
Hi everyone. This is my review of my favorite Disco Movie ever. It’s got a great cast, & this movie will make you want to go to a nightclub. 🪩 However, the movie is a lot darker than you remember. So let’s get down to the review for today.
CAST:
John Travolta - Tony Manero
Karen Lynn Gorney - Stephanie
Barry Miller - Bobby C.
Joseph Cali - Joey
Paul Pape - Double J
Donna Pescow - Gus
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
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Tony Manero is a 19 yr. old Italian-American from the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. He lives with his parents, grandmother, & younger sister, & works at a dead-end job in a small paint store.
To escape his everyday life, Tony goes to 2001 Odyssey, a local discotheque (reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)), where he’s king of the dance floor, & receives the admiration & respect he craves. Tony has 4 best Italian-American friends from the neighborhood named…
1. Joey
2. Double J
3. Gus
4. Bobby C.
A fringe member of his group of friends is Annette, a neighborhood girl who is in love with Tony. On the other hand. Tony is not attracted to her.
Tony & his friends stop on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to fool around. The bridge has special significance for Tony as a symbol of escape to a better life.
Tony agrees to be Annette's partner in an upcoming dance contest. But her happiness is short-lived when Tony is approached by another woman at the club, Stephanie Mangano, whose dancing skills are better than Annette's. Although Stephanie rejects Tony, she eventually agrees to be his partner in the dance competition, provided that their partnership remains professional. I love The Bee Gees. But my Aunt Tara (Dad’s younger sister) doesn’t like them.
Frank Jr., Tony's older brother & the pride of the family as a Roman Catholic priest, brings despair to their parents & grandmother when he tells them he has quit the priesthood. Tony shares a warm relationship with Frank Jr. But Tony feels pleased that he’s not the black sheep of the family anymore. Frank Jr. tells Tony that he never wanted to be a priest & only did it to make their parents happy. He also encourages Tony to do something with his dancing.
Sometime after, Tony & Stephanie dance at the competition, sharing a kiss at the end of their performance, & end up winning 1st prize. However, Tony believes that a Puerto Rican couple performed better, & that the judges' decision was ethnically motivated. He gives the Puerto Rican couple his trophy & the award money, & leaves with Stephanie. Once inside Bobby's car, both Tony & Stephanie get into an argument, & she leaves.
Tony's friends come to the car along with Annette, & they arrive at the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge for their usual cable-climbing antics. Instead of abstaining as usual, Bobby performs stunts more recklessly than the rest of the gang. Realizing that he’s acting recklessly, Tony tries to get him to come down. But Bobby slips, & falls to his death in the water below.
Disgusted & disillusioned by his friends, his family, & his life, Tony storms off, leaving Double J, Joey, & Annette behind. He spends the rest of the night riding the subway into Manhattan.
In the morning, he appears at Stephanie's apartment. He apologizes for his bad behavior, telling her that he plans to relocate from Brooklyn to Manhattan to attempt to start a new life. Stephanie forgives Tony. But she tells him that she danced with him, because he gave her respect & moral support. Tony & Stephanie rekindle their relationship, & agree to be friends.
THE END
Saturday Night Fever (1977) is the greatest Disco movie of all time! It has excellent music, & John Travolta did an amazing job with dancing. After I watched the movie, it made me want to go to a nightclub. 🪩