Staying Alive (1983 film)

Staying Alive
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sylvester Stallone
Produced by	Sylvester Stallone Robert Stigwood
Written by	Sylvester Stallone Norman Wexler
Starring	John Travolta Cynthia Rhodes Finola Hughes Steve Inwood
Music by	Barry Gibb Maurice Gibb Robin Gibb
Cinematography	Nick McLean
Edited by	Peter E. Berger Mark Warner Don Zimmerman
Production company	RSO Records
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	July 11, 1983 (1983-07-11) (Mann's Chinese Theatre premiere[1][2]) July 15, 1983 (1983-07-15) (United States)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$22 million[3]
Box office	$64.8 million

Staying Alive is a 1983 American dance film starring John Travolta as dancer Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel and Kevyn Morrow. It is a sequel to 1977's Saturday Night Fever. The film was directed by Sylvester Stallone, who also co-produced and co-wrote the film with the original Saturday Night Fever producer and writer, Robert Stigwood and Norman Wexler, respectively. This is, along with Homefront, one of only two films which Stallone wrote without being the star (although he does have a cameo appearance). The choreography was done by Dennon and Sayhber Rawles.

The title of the film comes from the Bee Gees song of the same name, which was used as the theme song to Saturday Night Fever and is also played during the final scene of Staying Alive. The title also reflects Tony's circumstances at the beginning of the film, in which he is barely surviving as he pursues his dream of making dancing his career.

Unlike Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive holds a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nonetheless, it was a box office success, earning $65 million on a $22 million budget.

Plot

Kersti Adams-Ray interviews John Travolta in Sweden about Staying Alive, September 1983

Anthony "Tony" Manero, a former disco king, acts on his brother's advice and his own dreams of dancing professionally. He is now living in a Manhattan flophouse, working as a dance instructor and waiter at a dance club, searching for a big break in the modern dance productions on Broadway. The break from his Brooklyn life, family, and friends seem to have somewhat matured Tony and refined his personality, including his diminished Brooklyn accent, an avoidance of alcohol, and less use of profanity. Other attitudes remain unchanged, such as his disregard for his girlfriend, the forgiving Jackie, who is a dancer and rock singer. Still acting immature, Tony maintains some of his other macho and childish double standards, such as seeing other women but being offended if he sees Jackie with other men.

Tony watches a show, which features Jackie as a dancer in the chorus, but focuses on the lead, a seemingly-wealthy English dancer, Laura. Tony pursues her with seduction in mind, and spends the night with her. He is annoyed when she dismisses him afterward, not understanding that she intended their encounter to be a one-night stand. Laura coldly justifies her treatment of him by saying that "Everybody uses everybody," and implies that Tony used her in order to get a dance role in her upcoming show.

Unable to trust Tony, Jackie breaks up with him. Jackie, Tony, and Laura then all audition for the Broadway production Satan's Alley. Jackie and Tony land small roles, and Laura is cast as the lead female dancer.

Tony begins to realize how callous he has been to Jackie, and walks all the way from Manhattan to his old Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn in the middle of the night. When he walks past the 2001 Odyssey, he sees that the discotheque, which was his former hangout, is now a gay nightclub, and he realizes how much his life has changed since he left Brooklyn. When Tony goes to visit his mother, and apologizes for his selfishness and the trouble-making ways of his youth, she points out that his selfish behavior as a teen was what helped him escape a dead-end life in Bay Ridge. Tony feels better after this and heads back to Manhattan to repair his relationship with Jackie. His hostility and distance from the arrogant Laura increase as the production progresses.

Tony decides to take a shot at replacing the male lead of Satan's Alley, and requests Jackie to help him practice the number. Laura is disgusted when Tony succeeds and openly displays her resentment at having to partner him in the show. They cannot hide their chemistry on stage despite her animosity, which pleases the show's director.

Satan's Alley sells out, and the cast takes the stage to a standing-room-only crowd. The first act is a success despite Tony's brash disregard for the script when he kisses Laura at the end of their number. Laura furiously retaliates by clawing Tony's face. The director blasts Tony backstage, telling him to take his personal war away from the production. Laura seems to offer a truce when she asks to see him after the show to "clear things up." Tony, now fully aware of her manipulative ways, coldly tells her that he has other commitments, and Laura snidely responds that he lacks star quality.

The second act is a dazzling display of dance and special effects, and Tony suddenly abandons the script near the end of the show. He hurls Laura away and gives way to his frustration in a solo dance. He finishes and holds out his hand to Laura with a command to jump. She halts amid Jackie's and the director's commands, but finally leaps in his arms for a climactic finish to the show. The thrilled audience gives a standing ovation.

Tony celebrates with his jubilant cast mates and reconciles with Jackie. He says that what he really must do is "strut" in celebration. He leaves the theater and struts through Times Square, beaming with his newfound success.

Cast

Some actors from the first movie were also included in the cast, but their performances were cut: Donna Pescow appeared in the audience at Tony's Broadway debut, and Val Bisoglio appeared as Tony's father in a small role. His scene was cut, and the film instead vaguely implies that he has died.

Production

Saturday Night Fever producer and writer Robert Stigwood and Norman Wexler started planning a sequel soon after the original film came out in 1977, due to the film's success. They came up with the title Staying Alive, and Wexler wrote a script. Travolta was open to the idea of a sequel, but did not like the pessimism of the script, thinking that his character, Tony Manero, needed to see more success as a dancer.^[4] Stigwood and executives from Paramount Pictures spent the next several years trying to convince Travolta to film the script as written, but with no success.^[4] The project was considered abandoned, but then in 1981 Stigwood met with Travolta to get Travolta's views on how a sequel should go. Travolta stated that he wanted Manero to attempt a dance career on Broadway and end up in a leading role due to his talent.^[4] Wexler wrote another script based on Travolta's ideas, in which Manero becomes a Broadway dancer but remains in the chorus. Travolta agreed to participate in the film, though he preferred an ending more like the one he had envisioned: he agreed that Wexler's ending was a more realistic outcome, but felt that it would not be sufficiently exciting for audiences.^[4]

It was then time to find a director for Staying Alive, and Travolta, who had just seen the film Rocky III (which Stallone wrote, directed and starred in), told his agent that he wanted a director who could bring the energy and pacing of that film to Staying Alive. To Travolta's surprise, Paramount, with the help of then-studio chief Michael Eisner, was able to bring in Stallone himself.^[4] Travolta told Stallone about his idea for a happier ending, and Stallone rewrote the script to more closely match Travolta's vision. Stallone also made the Manero character more mature - given that the character was now six years older than in the original film - and made the film's language tamer than that of the first film, to ensure that it got a PG rating.^[4]

Under Stallone's supervision, Travolta spent five months doing rigorous training to develop a dancer's physique for the film, losing twenty pounds in the process.^[4]

Reception

Staying Alive was blasted by film critics. Roger Ebert called the dance productions "laughably gauche", especially the final number, which he mocked for including "fire, ice, smoke, flashing lights and laser beams". Ebert added that what the film most lacked was "the sense of reality in "Saturday Night Fever"... There's no old neighborhood, no vulgar showdowns with his family (he apologizes to his mother for his "attitude"!) and no Brooklyn eccentricity."^[5] In 2006, Entertainment Weekly dubbed Staying Alive the "Worst Sequel Ever."^[6] Many critics were unanimous in agreeing that the film did not contain the grittiness and realism that Saturday Night Fever possessed. The film holds a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews and with the consensus being "This sequel to Saturday Night Fever is shockingly embarrassing and unnecessary, trading the original's dramatic depth for a series of uninspired dance sequences."^[7]

The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.^[8]

Despite being a critical failure, Staying Alive was a commercial success. The film grossed nearly $65 million in the US box office against its $22 million budget. Worldwide it grossed $127 million. Though the US box office intake was significantly less than the $139.5 million^[9] earned by Saturday Night Fever, the film nevertheless ranked in the top ten most financially successful films of 1983.

As often with initially criticised films, it is more kindly regarded in retrospect, and has achieved cult status.

Awards and nominations

• Golden Globe Awards

Nominated: Original Song ("Far from Over")

• Golden Raspberry Awards

Nominated: Worst Actor (John Travolta)

Nominated: Worst New Star (Finola Hughes)

Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress (Finola Hughes)

• Grammy Awards

Nominated: Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released in 1983 and is mainly performed by the Bee Gees. Five new Bee Gees songs (all of which have lead vocals by Barry Gibb) took up the first side, with side two featuring various artists performing songs mostly written by Frank Stallone, brother of the film's director Sylvester Stallone. The soundtrack reached number 14 in the United Kingdom, number 6 in the United States, number 1 in Switzerland, and number 2 in Italy and Japan, and sold 5 million copies worldwide. The LP was the final soundtrack, and the final songs, by the Bee Gees released under RSO.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Staying Alive (1983 film)

• Staying Alive on IMDb
• Staying Alive at the TCM Movie Database
• Staying Alive at AllMovie
• Staying Alive at Box Office Mojo
• Staying Alive at Rotten Tomatoes
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