Last night at the Castro Theater, Xanadu was a delicious confection of bad special effects, wretchedly bad choreography, scary bad roller skating, and interminibly bad plot points. Yes, somehow, the combined star power of ONJ and Gene Kelly overcome all of that and make the movie a gem. Most of the songs really showcase what was so good about the late 70s/early 80s music – the lush production values and sweet sense of melody.
Skatetown USA, on the other hand, put it’s real star, Patrick Swayze, in his introductory role, in the unenviable task of being the villain in this rollerdisco yuckfest. The skating was the star of this movie, but all those stand-up comedians and tv stars just made it painful to watch.
Most of you do not know this, but I was a competitive roller skater during my late childhood up into my early 20s. I used to put in many long hours of practice at the local skating rinks in Sacramento, competing in various skating meets, as well as hundreds of hours just session skating. These movies have a resonance for me that brought me back to a nostalgic reverie of those younger days. Add that to the fact that I am turning 40 in two weeks from today, and the evening was both festive and pensive.
Comments on this entry are closed.