The problem with Staying Alive is that the foundation of it is from an era that had passed. Sure, in the early-mid 1980s, there were plenty of films about dancing: Footloose, Flashdash, Breakin', etc., etc., but Tony Manero (his attitude and dancing prowess) is a product of the mid-late 1970s disco scene…which, stylistically, by 1983 was dead. Trying to interject him into an era where dancing films were now steeped in spandex, leg warmers, ostentatious synthesizers, turn table scratching, glitzy pyrotechnics, and flamboyant "CATS"-esque outfits just seemed…well…awkward.
While John Travolta puts on a great performance and is endlessly mesmerizing throughout the whole film, the Tony Manero character, overall, comes across very "different" than before. Though he continues to be cocky and full of himself, this time around very conspicuous dimensions of merriment, tenderness, vulnerability and patience are so interpolated into his character that it almost seemed—in a way—like not the same guy. Can someone really mellow THAT much in only six years? He comes across more like a nicer, slightly older, cousin of the original Manero. And while it's likable, sure, it's still a bit distracting and weird. Laura, the "heroine" of the film (if you can call her that), meanwhile is thoroughly obnoxious in just about every scene she's in…which is disappointing because at the beginning of the movie you expect to like her.
The ending of the film, with Tony (after having given a triumphant performance during his Broadway revue) strutting up the street to the sounds of the Bee-Gee's "Staying Alive" is a delightful throwback to the original film, but at the same time it also immediately hearkens your mind back to SNF and brings to a head why this sequel isn't as good. If you take the film for what it is, and are able to disconnect from what you know about Saturday Night Fever, then it's worth watching…once. But if you go into watching it with SNF in your head (like most of us automatically will), then you are going to be left feeling at somewhat of a loss on how to take it.
While John Travolta puts on a great performance and is endlessly mesmerizing throughout the whole film, the Tony Manero character, overall, comes across very "different" than before. Though he continues to be cocky and full of himself, this time around very conspicuous dimensions of merriment, tenderness, vulnerability and patience are so interpolated into his character that it almost seemed—in a way—like not the same guy. Can someone really mellow THAT much in only six years? He comes across more like a nicer, slightly older, cousin of the original Manero. And while it's likable, sure, it's still a bit distracting and weird. Laura, the "heroine" of the film (if you can call her that), meanwhile is thoroughly obnoxious in just about every scene she's in…which is disappointing because at the beginning of the movie you expect to like her.
The ending of the film, with Tony (after having given a triumphant performance during his Broadway revue) strutting up the street to the sounds of the Bee-Gee's "Staying Alive" is a delightful throwback to the original film, but at the same time it also immediately hearkens your mind back to SNF and brings to a head why this sequel isn't as good. If you take the film for what it is, and are able to disconnect from what you know about Saturday Night Fever, then it's worth watching…once. But if you go into watching it with SNF in your head (like most of us automatically will), then you are going to be left feeling at somewhat of a loss on how to take it.