It’s power to the people time here at BMT as we are focusing on winners or nominees of people/teen/kid’s choice awards. The only awards that really matter. The info on these awards are pretty sparse seeing as they are run through Gallup and so are just kind of polling name recognition, but oh what a surprise when I went to check the March 15, 1984 NYTimes:
There is more info on this advertisement than on the wikipedia page! I feel like we have a right to know that Flashdance was nominated for Favorite Motion Picture and wasn’t just the winner of Favorite Song from a Motion Picture. Also, shouldn’t we be privy to the fact that both R2D2 and C3PO were scheduled to appear alongside Swedish Chef and Meryl Streep? Now we just need to get our hands on an actual copy of the special Gallup poll.
To recap, Alex is a Pittsburgh area steel worker who dreams of being a professional dancer. But she lacks money (and the confidence) so spends her days welding away and her nights flash dancing her heart out. One night her boss, Nick, shows up to her show and is entranced. He basically gets HR on the phone and is like “Call me The Mask, cause someone should stop me.” He insists they date and ultimately they do, even as his wealth, age, and ex-wife try to get in the way. She goes through a bunch of trials and tribulations involving her best friend becoming a stripper (she says “stop that!”), Nick being spotted at a charity function with his ex-wife (she says “stop that!”) and their subsequent break-up when she finds out he pulled some strings to get her an audition at a prestigious dance school despite her lack of experience (she’s like “stop that!”). Ultimately, though, she decides to go through with the audition. Why? Because she’s a great goddamn dancer, that’s why! Obviously, she blows all the judges’ minds with her dancing and smooches Nick for hours. THE END.
I really, really liked this movie. Don’t get me wrong, the script is paper thin. I could almost feel it fluttering in the wind threatening to fly away as I watched the movie. But it is perfection in how they are able to take that script and jazz is up with pure, unadulterated entertainment. I remember taking a film class in college and being asked one day by the TA what my favorite movie was. Other students were like Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, The General… just throwing out classics. When it came to me I said the truth (at the time): Anchorman and the reason I gave was that it was pure comedy. Everything about it was meant to be funny. Even the parts that appeared not to be funny, like the love interest, was turned on its head to be a joke. And I thought it was perfect execution of pure jokes. This is perfect execution of pure entertainment. The script is trash. The plot is nonsense. It doesn’t age perfectly and it portended a wave of cocaine-fueled erotic thrillers that was… not pure entertainment. But boy… what a feeling.
Hot Take Clam Bake! I smell a scandal, ladies and gentlemen. Hear me out, it appears like Nick pulls strings at the dance academy so that Alex can fulfill her dreams. I don’t buy it. I’m thinking the chain of events is this. 1. Nick is caught with his ex-wife at the ballet. 2. Alex and him have a huge blow up at the plant that everyone sees. 3. Gossip abounds, which reaches HR. 4. Nick is brought in to talk, this is not his first strike. 5. Nick’s like “No, no, you see she doesn’t even work here anymore, she’s going to dance school and is just working till the term starts.” 6. HR is like “Really?” 7. Nick is like “Yeah, definitely.” 8. HR is like “OK, well that’s good. That’s OK.” 9. NICK IS SCRAMBLING. Alex doesn’t have any experience! Who does he know on the board?! Where is his rolodex?!… and eventually… 27. Smooching away his problem with Alex after she wins the day. Phew. Hot Take Temperature: Pittsburgh, but it’s like mid-August.
Patrick?
Patrick
‘Ello everyone! I’m a maniac. And this movie makes me feel like we were witnessing the birth of a whole genre of movies. Let’s go!
That genre? Something along the lines of “cheapo film made with a no name actress we dress in very skimpy clothing”. This movie was a phenomenon. The third highest grossing film (domestic) of 1983 after The Return of the Jedi and Tootsie. Wikipedia claims it made over $200 million worldwide, although given the time period the number cited in the lawsuit surrounding the film ($150 million) seems more likely. $90 million domestic, $60 million worldwide. This film was made for $7 million.
Here’s a mostly unfounded theory. This film is a romantic drama. But romantic dramas are tough and often don’t make money (see something like previous BMT classic A Change of Seasons) because when they are bad people don’t like them. So you need a genre with some vim, one where even when it is bad people still find it exciting and interesting. Enter: Action, Horror, or Thriller. Action is expensive, Horror is gross, and thus the Erotic Thriller is born. That a dime-a-dozen cheap thriller script, add in a young actress, et voila. Money printer. Until it wasn’t I guess, the puritanism of the late-90s kind of caught up with it in the end.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if the actual genre (which tends to be either legal or detective thrillers) was born out of a glut of noir films still being written when the genre was effectively dead.
Oh the movie? Solid stuff. Really really entertaining. Jennifer Beale was genuinely good. And the underdog story worked well. A very Billy Elliot delivery in the end as well with the dance scene.
But yeah, the main issue is that sure: three dances (first dance, Maniac, and the audition) you can chalk up to necessity. The outfits? Fine, that’s what she wears when dancing. But the strip club scene? The workout scene? The gratuitous stretching? The dinner outfit. There are five or six bits which are obviously just there for us to ogle Beale and 40 years later it reads pretty gross. Unfortunately without a bunch of it the movie would be too short, otherwise I would wonder what a Not Gross Cut would look like and whether it would read better.
There is a Peanuts short called It’s a Flashdance, Charlie Brown. It’s on Apple+. I watched it. Unfortunately Snoopy doesn’t do the water thing at the beginning scene which is called “Flashbeagle”. So that gets a D at best.
A huge Setting as a Character (Where?) for Pittsburgh where our hero is a welder who really just dreams of being a dancer. Secret Holiday Film (When?) Alert, because we have a big scene set during Halloween. And this is definitely a Good film.
Read about the sequel 40 years in the making in Flashdance: Generations in the Quiz. Cheerios,
Oh what a feeling. You know the feeling. The feeling when you go into a dance audition, attempt a flip, and land directly on your head sustaining a massive concussion while embarrassing yourself? That feeling. Anyhoo, I don’t remember anything. Do you remember what happened in Flashdance?
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) Oh snap we got a meetcute y’all. How do our two love birds meet?
2) So what’s the story? Why does our hero want to be a dancer and why is she a welder?
3) We also have a bit of an odd interlude involving the cook in the bar she dances in, and her good friend who is a waitress. They both have big dreams. What are their two big desires?
4) Why does Alex smash up Nick’s house?
5) And how does Alex get that big audition?
Bonus Question: So … let’s go for a classic. How long does the relationship last?
Just as it appears that Jamie and Patrick are going to do battle they transition into a patented Double Twin Punch directly into Michael’s chest. His chest bursts open, showering them in a multitude of springs and other mechanical doodads. A slow clap rings through the emptiness of the catacombs. “Brilliant,” says Drake Dudikoff. His brother, Charlie, smiles broadly at his side. “We knew you were the ones, we just never imagined you would do it so quickly,” Charlie remarks. “What was it? Was it how closely our story paralleled that of Citizen Kane? The dreams of youth, and loss of innocence associated with the loss of our brother Michael, driving us to ruin in our ambition?” His eyes shine. Jamie and Patrick smirk. “Your story is Toys, my man,” Jamie says wryly. “Dreams of youth… loss of innocence… Michael is a classic Alsatia Zevo. Which of course means The Gutes is…” Another slow clap rings out revealing The Gutes, “LL Cool G himself. It told you these guys were legit,” The Gutes says. Charlie and Drake nod their heads in agreement, “Join us, Movie Twins, and learn what it is you seek. You yearn to know what is good? Then we shall teach you. You want to take your knowledge and help the world? This is where it happens. Look at what we built from our pain and suffering,” they say pointing at the remains of Michael, “Years of painstaking construction from our favorite Ferrari Testarossa which you destroyed with one punch. Think of all the other things you can punch… with your minds.” Jamie and Patrick agree. Point them in the direction of good and their brains will punch it. “Alright,” Drake says, “hope you guys brought your jorts.” That’s right! We are transitioning to the dance club to listen to some sweet tunes and some dope beats. We’re real cool and real rad and we know what the people want. Flashdance! Let’s go!
Flashdance (1983) – BMeTric: 26.2; Notability: 58
StreetCreditReport.com –BMeTric: top 8.4%; Notability: top 1.6%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 15.3%; Higher BMeT: Jaws 3-D, Superman III, Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, Staying Alive, Amityville 3-D, Curse of the Pink Panther, Porky’s II: The Next Day, Hercules, Two of a Kind, Deal of the Century, Doctor Detroit, Stroker Ace, Still Smokin, Spring Break, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, The Final Terror, D.C. Cab, Grizzly II: Revenge, The Sting II, Krull, and 1 more; Higher Notability: Superman III, Curse of the Pink Panther, Krull, Deal of the Century; Lower RT: Staying Alive, The Sting II, Nate and Hayes, The Lonely Lady, Grizzly II: Revenge, The Survivors, Porky’s II: The Next Day, Still Smokin, Jaws 3-D, Deal of the Century, Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, Two of a Kind, D.C. Cab, Amityville 3-D, Stroker Ace, Spring Break, The Black Stallion Returns, Hercules, Class, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, and 9 more; Notes: The Notability is off the chain there. But so is Krull! I guess a big part of Krull is it has a huge cast (including Liam Neeson) of people who became famous maybe. Still seems insane.
RogerEbert.com – 1.5 stars – “Flashdance” is like a movie that won a free 90-minute shopping spree in the Hollywood supermarket. The director (Adrian Lynn, of the much better “Foxes”) and his collaborators race crazily down the aisles, grabbing a piece of “Saturday Night Fever,” a slice of “Urban Cowboy,” a quart of “Marty” and a 2-pound box of “Archie Bunker’s Place.” The result is great sound and flashdance, signifying nothing. But Jennifer Beals shouldn’t feel bad. She is a natural talent, she is fresh and engaging here, and only needs to find an agent with a natural talent for turning down scripts.
(I mean, some high praise there, but an interesting take. I guess you are really slammed in the early 80s for being “derivative” when I think something like this in the 90s appears to border on ironic? Hard to tell. Exciting nonetheless.)
(That is a risque trailer for the 80s I feel like. A good trailer though. Makes me want to watch some dancing.)
Directors – Adrian Lyne – ( Known For: Lolita; Deep Water; Fatal Attraction; Unfaithful; Jacob’s Ladder; 9½ Weeks; Foxes; Future BMT: Indecent Proposal; BMT: Flashdance; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Director for Indecent Proposal in 1994; Notes: Nominated for an Oscar for Fatal Attraction. Deep Water was supposed to be the return of the Erotic Thriller. Instead people maybe just realized that the genre is too weird to resurrect.)
Writers – Thomas Hedley Jr. – ( Known For: Obsession; Hard to Hold; Double Negative; Mr. Patman; Future BMT: Fighting Back; BMT: Flashdance; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Screenplay for Flashdance in 1984; Notes: He maybe retired only a few years later? He basically only gets mentioned when people need to try and get the rights to Flashdance.)
Joe Eszterhas – ( Known For: Basic Instinct; Jagged Edge; Music Box; F.I.S.T.; An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn; Telling Lies in America; Big Shots; Hearts of Fire; Szabadság, szerelem; Checking Out; Future BMT: Showgirls; Nowhere to Run; Betrayed; BMT: Flashdance; Sliver; Basic Instinct 2; Jade; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst New Star, and Worst Original Song for An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn in 1999; Winner for Worst Screenplay for Showgirls in 1996; Winner for Worst New Star for Ringmaster in 1999; and Nominee for Worst Screenplay in 1984 for Flashdance; in 1994 for Sliver; and in 1996 for Jade; Notes: Famously wrote a ton of erotic thrillers and the legendarily bad Burn Hollywood Burn: An Alan Smithee Film. Was nominated for the National Book Award in 1975.)
Actors – Jennifer Beals – ( Known For: My Bodyguard; Luckiest Girl Alive; Vampire’s Kiss; Runaway Jury; The Book of Eli; Four Rooms; Before I Fall; Devil in a Blue Dress; The Last Days of Disco; Manhattan Night; The Thief and the Cobbler; The Anniversary Party; Roger Dodger; In the Soup; Full Out; Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle; Dear Diary; Queen to Play; The Twilight of the Golds; The Search for One-eye Jimmy; Future BMT: The Grudge 2; Catch That Kid; The Bride; BMT: After; Flashdance; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Actress for The Bride in 1986; Notes: This started her career and since then she’s done a ton of television including some Star Wars, The L Word, and recently The L Word spinoff.)
Michael Nouri – ( Known For: The Proposal; The Terminal; The Squeeze; Finding Forrester; Invincible; Woman Walks Ahead; Last Holiday; The Hidden; Captain America; Goodbye, Columbus; To the Limit; Con Man; Beyond the Trek; Lovely & Amazing; Alex & The List; American Yakuza; Boynton Beach Club; Any Day Now; High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story; Gangster Wars; Future BMT: GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords; BMT: Flashdance; Notes: Young and the Restless, The O.C., All My Children. The man is a soap legend. He sung the theme for Search for Tomorrow.)
Lilia Skala – ( Known For: Ship of Fools; Testament; Charly; House of Games; Lilies of the Field; Caprice; Heartland; Men of Respect; Call Me Madam; Deadly Hero; Roseland; Man braucht kein Geld; BMT: Flashdance; Notes: Nominated for an Oscar for Lilies of the Field. She’s from Austria.)
Budget/Gross – $7 million / Domestic: $92,921,203 (Worldwide: $92,921,203)
(Wowza, that’s a box office smash! The rights must be totally f-ed because there is little alternative explanation as to why there wouldn’t have been a remake or sequel.)
Rotten Tomatoes – 35% (17/49): All style and very little substance, Flashdance boasts eye-catching dance sequences — and benefits from an appealing performance from Jennifer Beals — but its narrative is flat-footed.
(Oh boo hoo. The film about dancing has a bland story? Footloose baby! The power of a good soundtrack and an appealing lead. Just let it flow is what I say.)
New York Times Short Review: Thin plot but marvelous footwork.
(I like how people are like “no, no, Flashdance was not selling sex. It was selling the dreams of a young girl who just wanted to dance.” Right, that’s definitely what I’m getting from this poster. It’s OK, the film can be great and also sell itself on being steamy, even in a PG-13 kind of way. Not the best poster, but iconic. I grade it an I for iconic.)
Tagline(s) – What a feeling. (A+)
Something happens when she hears the music…it’s her freedom. It’s her fire. It’s her life. (B+)
(That second one is great if they didn’t add the front part to it. What a feeling is also pretty great from an advertising angle. You can almost feel like girls and boys alike would see this poster and then have their pulse race a little when they are told “what a feeling.” It’s not an A+ on its merits, but like the poster as a whole it’s an A+ in execution.)
Keyword(s) – Citizen Kane
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), The Terminator (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Aliens (1986), Groundhog Day (1993)
Future BMT: 75.1 Look Who’s Talking Now (1993), 72.0 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 61.0 Pet Sematary II (1992), 59.7 Suburban Commando (1991), 58.5 Rocky V (1990), 56.4 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.7 Ringmaster (1998), 54.2 Who’s That Girl (1987), 53.2 Made in America (1993), 52.4 Blank Check (1994), 51.6 The Pest (1997), 50.5 Getting Even with Dad (1994), 50.1 Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), 49.9 3 Ninjas (1992), 49.1 My Girl 2 (1994), 48.4 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), 48.0 Three Men and a Little Lady (1990), 46.8 House Party 3 (1994), 46.4 Zapped! (1982), 45.8 Sidekicks (1992)
BMT: Batman & Robin (1997), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Super Mario Bros. (1993), RoboCop 3 (1993), Grease 2 (1982), Caddyshack II (1988), Mac and Me (1988), Bio-Dome (1996), Anaconda (1997), Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996), Double Team (1997), Fair Game (1995), Leprechaun (1993), Body of Evidence (1992), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Poltergeist III (1988), Cool World (1992), Wild Orchid (1989), Chairman of the Board (1997), Red Sonja (1985), Ishtar (1987), Toys (1992), Sliver (1993), Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993), Shanghai Surprise (1986), Nothing But Trouble (1991), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), Exit to Eden (1994), Fire Down Below (1997), Color of Night (1994), Graveyard Shift (1990), No Holds Barred (1989), The Lawnmower Man (1992), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Maximum Overdrive (1986), Fire Birds (1990), Cocoon: The Return (1988), Jingle All the Way (1996), Raw Deal (1986), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), Crocodile Dundee II (1988), Hudson Hawk (1991), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), Navy Seals (1990), Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Hot to Trot (1988), Rambo III (1988), Terminal Velocity (1994), Meatballs Part II (1984), Cobra (1986), Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), Man Trouble (1992), Hard to Kill (1990), Conan the Destroyer (1984), The Golden Child (1986), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Hard Rain (1998), Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Mannequin (1987), K-9 (1989), Blame It on Rio (1984), Days of Thunder (1990), No Mercy (1986), Senseless (1998), The Wizard (1989), The Marrying Man (1991), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), Flashdance (1983), The Cannonball Run (1981), Tango & Cash (1989), Stone Cold (1991), Lock Up (1989), The Good Son (1993), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Dangerous Minds (1995), The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), Young Guns II (1990), Event Horizon (1997), Dutch (1991), Police Academy (1984), Road House (1989)
Best Options (wisdom):26.2 Flashdance (1983), 12.8 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
(Top choice. In reality a huge reason to pick Flashdance was it was standalone. Because you know I would be watching Home Alone again, and we’d at least have to consider Home Alone 3 (which I believe, somehow, qualifies). And thus ends The One and Only cycle, the biggest data analysis BMT has ever done.)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 32) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Malcolm Danare is No. 11 billed in Flashdance and No. 11 billed in Godzilla, which also stars Jean Reno (No. 2 billed) who is in Rollerball (No. 5 billed) which also stars Chris Klein (No. 1 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 2 billed) => (11 + 11) + (2 + 5) + (1 + 2) = 32. If we were to watch Staying Alive, Jack, and The Glass House we can get the HoE Number down to 18.
Notes – Jennifer Beals’ trend-setting collarless sweatshirt came about by accident. The sweatshirt, which Beals brought from home, had shrunk in the wash and she had to cut the collar off in order to get it over her head. When director Adrian Lyne and costume designer Michael Kaplan saw it at the wardrobe fitting, they both loved it and Kaplan improved the overall look of the sweatshirt for the actual shoot.
Based on the life of construction worker/welder-turned-dancer Maureen Marder.
Marine Jahan was Jennifer Beals’ body double for the dancing scenes. Jahan was kept hidden from the press because the filmmakers did not want to ruin the illusion. Alex’s leap through the air in the audition scene was done by gymnast Sharon Shapiro and the break-dancing was done by Crazy Legs. Jahan appeared in the music video for “Maniac”.
In 1982, Maureen Marder, whose life the film loosely is based on, signed an agreement with Paramount releasing it from any claim regarding her life story. In return she received a check for $2,300. The movie later took in an estimated $200 million worldwide.
The traffic cop who Alex mimics to a tune from Bizet’s Carmen is famous in Pittsburgh. His name is Vic Cianca, and he was well known for his “choreography,” directing traffic in Pittsburgh for over 30 years. He was known as the “Nureyev of the Intersection,” a moniker bestowed on him by Phil Musick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In the early years of home video, Paramount tried an experiment in which this film was given a heavily promoted home video release while the film was still playing in some cinemas. The box office was expected to drop off to nothing as soon as the tape became available for rental. Instead, the heavy promotion caused an increase in box office receipts.
Joe Esposito recorded the vocals to the original version of Flashdance … What A Feeling. Producer Don Simpson and Adrienne Lynn decided that since the lead character was a female, the song needed to be sung by a female. They hired Irene Cara to perform the song at the last minute. She re-wrote the original lyrics while riding in a car to the recording studio the day she recorded the song, and wound up winning an Oscar for her performance.
Michael Sembello had intended that the rhythm of “Maniac” be too fast to dance to.
This is the the first film to become a smash hit largely due to MTV. The opening weekend box office receipts were about $6 million, but the soundtrack immediately became a best-seller in the U.S. The film’s music producers and credited artists worked very quickly to film videos for songs such as “What a Feeling” and “Maniac” to get them on MTV. Younger viewers sustained the film’s run well beyond what was then expected for films that were released outside of the summer or winter holidays, were rated R, or didn’t have major stars involved. The movie took in an estimated $200 million worldwide.
The soundtrack to the movie sold 700,000 copies in its first two weeks of release.
Awards – Winner for the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song (Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara, 1984)
Nominee for the Oscar for Best Cinematography (Donald Peterman, 1984)
Nominee for the Oscar for Best Film Editing (Bud S. Smith, Walt Mulconery, 1984)
Nominee for the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song (Michael Sembello, Dennis Matkosky, 1984)
Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay (Thomas Hedley Jr., Joe Eszterhas, 1984)
Bad Movie Twins 