Xanadu

Rating:
Summary: Sit back and just enjoy it - you know you want to!!
Review: This movie hit the theaters the year my mother turned 18, and she and her best friend went to see it six - yes, six - times. That's just with each other. On one of their first dates, my mother dragged my father to this movie; according to legend, as soon as the animated scene started, he tried to leave with a groan, but my mother wouldn't let him!

Since my mother, for whatever strange reason, loved this movie, it became a sort of staple in my household, along with other obscure, fairly unknown movies such as Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn. I can recall joyful afternoons spent driving around town listening to the soundtrack in the car, or at home.

Fast forward to the present, where not so long ago, this now 21+ girl forced her unwilling boyfriend to sit down and watch the DVD; much to his dismay! But he enjoyed watching me smile and laugh and sing along, because of course I know the words to all the songs!

I will freely admit - this is, hands-down, the WORST movie I have ever seen. The acting is terrible, the sets are atrocious, and even most of the music is bad in that way that makes many people cringe, but not complain. But let's be honest here; it wasn't really meant to be an Oscar-winning film. More than anything, this is an outlet for Olivia Newton-John, still hot off her Grease success; something for fans to flock to, money for everyone involved, and a way to keep Olivia in the public eye for as long as possible. And even though it may indeed be one of the worst movies of all time, you just have to sit back, laugh when it's corny, and enjoy the music and dancing. This movie appealed to me as a child, and still does today, because of the magic element involved, plus the musical element.

If you want a critically-acclaimed flick, or having a little bit of nostalgic fun isn't your taste, then stay away from this movie! But if you're willing to let yourself go, sit back, and just enjoy it - because you know you want to - then pick this up today!!

Rating:
Summary: High ratings, in part due to memories!
Review: Xanadu came to the theatres in 1980. I was fifteen at the time, a freshman in high school. The music of this period helped shape a lot of my listening pleasures, and Xanadu was a film with a lot of great music. I wore that album out, playing it constantly. "The Fall" is a truly powerful song about love. "Fool Country" (available only on the flip side of 45's) and "Dancin' Round and Round" were great fusions of differing musical styles. "Suddenly" reminds me of some of my first crushes - a song I wish I was dueting with certain girls. Then there are the other big hits as well: "Xanadu", "I'm Alive", "Magic", "All Over The World". A feast of sound.

One cannot review the film without taking the music into play. Yes, the acting was average at best, the dialogue sometimes hokey. Guess what? Most non-Oscar films of that period were. The visuals, by today's standards, are weak - but in 1980, on a big screen, they were dazzling. And remember, the early 80's was about dayglo and neon!

Seeing this film again always makes me smile. If I am having a truly lousy day, it is a great way for me to escape and find some joyful memories of decades gone by.

Rating:
Summary: All Over The World - you'll find fans of this flick
Review: I've tried and tried to appreciate Xanadu, but every time I see it again, I like it even less. This is so disturbing to me, because I really have been a life-long fan of Olivia Newton-John. And I was one of the first people in line to the see the flick when it opened on my birthday in August of 1980. I was expecting something really special: boy, was I ever disappointed. It was an incomprehensible mess. The only thing that made it worth watching was the music - this still holds true.

The problems in Xanadu stemmed from the frenzied (and haphazard) re-writing of the script that occurred in the middle of filming -in an effort to distance the flick from Can't Stop The Music. As a result, Xanadu, as a whole, became something less than the sum of its parts.

But there are merits to the film:

1. The opening musical number (I'm Alive) wherein the muses spring to life is really cool
2. Olivia Newton-John is gorgeous in every single one of her scenes; her high spirits carry us through some of the dreck
3. Gene Kelly - a legend who brought a certain touch of class to our place where dreams come true.
4. Electric Light Orchestra contributed some rockin' tunes, especially I'm Alive and All Over the World

Rating:
Summary: Could Be Fun, Could Be Trying
Review: I watched Xanadu recently expecting that it would be a movie that was amusing in it's datedness. I expected that the terry cloth hot pants and roller skates combined with ELO and Gene Kelly would be entertaining in it's own campy way. I have always liked Olivia Newton-John, and expected her to be brilliant as a muse in this movie. It turns out that all the brilliance that she had in this film was a bad neon back lit special effect. Olivia looks pretty, and Gene Kelly tries to be dapper, but overall, I can't say much for this one.

I had never seen the movie before, and had no idea how awful it truly was. Some people have said that the movie is 'infectious and fun.' I found it mostly to be just infectious. The songs are more banal than I remembered from the soundtrack, and the poor acting and nearly nonexistent plot (culminating in a grotesque pageantry laden roller disco musical extravaganza that seemed to go on forever) made this a tough one to get through. I just felt sad for Gene Kelly (he must have really needed the money to wear the costumes they put him in). This must have been the experience of a lifetime for Michael Beck. This movie permanently sent him off to the 'where are they now?' file. When Olivia and Michael go off to meet her father (Zeus, who else) the film becomes painful to watch. (I never needed to hear Zeus bicker with his wife.)

I think that if you like disco, and particularly ELO, and can tolerate really ugly clothes, horrid acting, and nearly complete absence of storyline then this movie might be for you. For most people, though, the movie will be a tough slog.

Rating:
Summary: A fun romp back to a less cynical time
Review: When XANADU was released circa 1980, I was just a little girl in grade school circa 1980, and all my friends rushed out to see this movie. They came back addicted to roller skating and pretending to be Olivia. Since I missed out, I didn't understand it all.Now that it's taken some 20-odd years for me to see this film, I'm piecing it all together. You see, there isn't a whole lotta plot. We meet Sonny, a frustrated artist whose creative juices are stifled, and Kira, a muse come to life who leaped off the mural and into Sonny's life to do what muses are supposed to do...inspire. Then Gene Kelly is thrown into the mix as a washed-out singer/dancer/musician. These characters are set against a backdrop of roller skating, disco music, roller discos, glitter balls, and far-out graphics. XANADU is the end result of the amalgamation of these aforementioned individuals and forms of entertainment.To watch this movie, you would fall under the impression that disco and roller skating (pre-rollerblade roller skating, that is) would rule the world forever. Now I know why my friends broke out the roller skates: Because it really gets you fired up and eager to glide 'round a dark rink under the twinkling lights of the glitter ball with a spunky Gene Kelly blazing the way for the roller-congo line. But alas, the irony is that XANADU did not perpetuate disco; rather, it extolled disco's last gasp. I think this film would have been a bigger hit had it been released two or three years earlier in the late 70's; perhaps then it would have perpetuated the disco craze. And yet...the film was fun, despite its weaknesses, and it was nice to go back to a less cynical time.

Rating:
Summary: Don't torture yourself!
Review: There are plenty of movies that define the word horrible. But even through some of those (like Mommie Dearest and Grease 2) you can find some watchable entertainment. Xanadu is not one of those movies.

Xanadu is as unwatchable as it can get, so much that it makes Chinese water torture look like a night on the town. First off, the plot (and I use that word VERY loosely) is weak and makes absolutely no sense. It's something about muses coming out of a mural and Olivia Newton-John bothering some painter. It's supposed to be some true love connection, but the chemistry is non-existent. Oh, they also have Gene Kelly thrown in, serving no point whatsoever. And of course, there is the animated sequence; why I can't figure out.

Next is the acting. It's too bad for words. Olivia tried but fell flat on her face, and Gene Kelly and Michael Beck couldn't have humiliated themselves more. Beck didn't surprise me, but Olivia showed promise in Grease (this movie showed Grease was a fluke at best) and Kelly was a legend even at this point. Oh well; sooner or later Olivia must have watched this and realized her movie career was in the toilet. What's funny though is you can tell throughout the movie that she thinks she is doing a good job.

Now, the music and special effects. The music I found to be pleasant but mostly forgettable. The duet between Kelly and Olivia just doesn't work, even though it seems like it should have, and a lot of the music is far too dated to really be considered classic. In fact, the only really memorable songs are "I'm Alive" "Magic" and "Xanadu". And the special effects, God help us all, are unconvincing and as dated as they can get. The worst examples must be the glowing muses at the beginning and the yellow comet-like thing that follows Olivia when she roller skates.

One more thing I can't forget are the costumes. The worst I've EVER seen. When I saw Gene Kelly wearing that pink business suit, I nearly puked. He thought he looked cool. That's just depressing.

That pretty much sums it all up. Bad acting, bad story, bad special effects, bad costumes, and mediocre songs. The end even opens up the opportunity for a sequel, but I think everyone was embarrassed enough. As Lea Thompson said on I Love the 80s, "You have to be on drugs to understand anything that happens in this movie."

Rating:
Summary: "Oll luv yew for-revva!"
Review: Many mere mortals--not privy to the blessings of the gods-- will tell you that XANADU was a flop for any number of reasons. Its plot makes no sense (a muse descends from heaven to help painter Michael Beck create the ultimate roller disco palace); its attempt to appeal both to an older crowd (with Gene Kelly in the WWII sequences) and a younger crowd (with the disco music, already out of fashion when the movie was released) was doomed to please neither constituency; and its star, Olivia Newton-John, seems unsure what she's supposed to be doing.

Foolish mortals! Whatever its failing this movie is worth it just for its fashions and makeup (vintage 1980) and its two great opening and closing numbers, which showcase the musical directors' lovely (if silly) eye for style. In the first, set to ELO's "It's Alive," a lovely group of muses (including the enchantingly beautiful ONJ) emerge from a mural and start dancing exuberantly in truly beautiful dancing outfits that look like a cross between Seventies peasant dresses and togas: they all become transformed into rainbow-colored raybeam and zoom up to the skies, and then Newton-John herself descends from heaven, rollerskating and glowing orange. (It sounds ridiculous, but it's visually stunning.)

The bizarrely campy final number, the amazing title song, features hundreds of chanting roller dancers first led by Kelly (in his Seventies!) and then by Livvy herself in a whirling array of different outfits that must be seen to be believed. First she's in a kind of spangly combination of a maillot and a sleeveless jumpsuit, dancing all over the place and watching circus performers--and then her hair is piled high on her head and she's in what looks to be a polka-dot Forties cigarette girl costume actually leading the other muses (gifted trained dancers all) in a tapdance number even though she can *barely* do the most simple tap steps herself--and then she's in this foxy tigerstriped "glam rock" miniskirt prowling around and being sensual,-- and then she's doing a country number in a white suede cowgirl thingy with ultra-long fringe,--and then (gasp, gasp!) she disappears for a moment and all the other muses come on wearing white dancing gowns with what appear to be white plastic triangles on their heads, and then finally Olivia herself emerges from behind them wearing an outfit that completely defies description (she looks like like a cross between Josephine Baker and a Cylon warrior: appropriately, everyone else onscreen wildly applauds this latest costume change). And THEN--zap!--neon lightning transforms Olivia and the muses back into their beautiful peasant togas from the first number, and then they all are transfigured and sent back up to heaven.

You will be too.

Rating:
Summary: A True 80's Classic!
Review: Olivia Newton John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, The Tubes...A musical lover's movie of movies! Dance scene of Olivia & Gene Kelly was breathtaking! I've watched this movie over & over & am thrilled that now I can get it on DVD. The soundtrack is a must-have as well! Incredible magic in the making of this film!

Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining!
Review: I have a lot of fun watching this movie. It's bright, colorful, entertaining and the music is great.
The big high spot is that it stars Olivia Newton-John.

Rating:
Summary: Beauty cannot save this beast of a movie
Review: I adore Olivia Newton-John, I'm a big fan of Gene Kelly, and I love musicals, but this movie is, in a word, awful. As I watched Xanadu, I kept trying to find something that could allow me to give it more than one star, but all I kept seeing were scenes and dialogue even more ridiculous than the last; there's even a cartoon scene thrown in here for no good reason. Xanadu barely even meets my definition of a musical because, despite a good bit of music being interspersed throughout the film, there are only a couple of scenes in which characters actually sing. Olivia herself is seemingly kept on a leash for the most part, flitting throughout the bulk of the action in a frumpy dress; in spots, she is quickly adorned with some of the worst costumes I have ever seen, and only for about a minute toward the end is the real beauty of Olivia released in all of its glory to the audience. I am glad that Gene Kelly appeared to being having fun with his role because it lessens the trauma I will forever feel whenever I think about Xanadu being his last major film. He does get to do a little bit of vintage Gene Kelly dancing, but we also have to see him try out a bunch of "cool" new outfits and then, at the end, watch him tool around on roller skates. When you come right down to it, Xanadu seems to be a film about roller skating and little else. Olivia's character of Kyra comes to life from a wall mural, skates around town in a mission to inspire Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) and Danny McGuire (Kelly) to open up a club featuring a horrible mix of McGuire's old-time Big Band sound with the worst music that 1980 has to offer. The extended scene of dueling musical eras inside the nascent club has to be one of the most excruciating scenes in the history of Hollywood.

I could give this movie a better rating just because Olivia Newton-John is in it, but my conscience would never allow me to do such a thing. As much as I hate to say it, Xanadu is a film that should be avoided by all but the most fervent Olivia fans. To such fans, I will just reiterate the facts that Olivia did not get as much screen time as I was expecting, she was saddled with a terrible character to have to play, the costumes she had to wear - with one all too brief exception - are hideous, and her songs, as nice as they most certainly are for the most part, can in no way make up for this movie's egregiously numerous and all-consuming defects.