Staying Alive

“Well I suppose it has the song.... Otherwise, this is a really poor and tawdry sequel to "Saturday Night Fever" that took six years to come to fruition. Quite why anyone but the accountant thought this was a good idea is anyone's guess - but John Travolta reprises his role as "Tony", this time trying to make it onto the Broadway stage. He's a changed man - he holds off on the booze, speaks poshly - hell, he even swears less. To be fair to director Sylvester Stallone, he does try to be innovative with his dance coverage - and the famous Travolta strut has lost none of it's hip-swinging rhythm, but the dialogue is dreadful and the characterisations really hemmed in by some shockingly poor acting - not least from the wooden Finola Hughes as the stroppy and petulant "Laura" and Cynthia Rhodes fares no better as "Jackie". The title track from the Bee Gees is the only really memorable song on a card that is busy, and oddly enough does work ok with the pace of this film - it's all just, well, rotten. The first film was not great, this makes it look outstanding.”