Seen in a rather dull dance chorus (which should be referred to as the Pebblequettes as opposed to the Rockettes, or maybe as the Rickettes), aging glamour girl Kim Novak (referred to as New York's most popular chorus girl) wishes that she was still dancing for Chez Joey in "Pal Joey". She's the lead of this middeling movie of the week that would give any aging former star vertigo. As luck would have it, she's involved with another Joey, here played by Tony Curtis, also her manager, and breaking away from him rather than join him in Las Vegas so she can try to finally find herself.
While Curtis is away, Novak begins to become involved with the much younger delivery boy, Michael Brandon, who follows her to Las Vegas while Curtis is seen with the rather nasty chorus girl played by Barbi Benton, a familiar name in the 1970s, but quite forgotten now. Curtis breaks into song several times, a indication of why he rarely appeared in musicals. There is an inside joke of one chorus girl doing the road company of "Sugar", the musical version of Curtis's 1959 classic "Some Like It Hot". Like in "Pal Joey", Curtis pulls Novak onstage against her will while she's barely wearing anything. The script seems to find all sorts of minor references to the cast's old works which would have worked better had this been a decent flick.
Probably the dullest folksong in music history is heard over and over again, threatening to put the viewer asleep from the moment it is heard in the opening credits. If dancing in a second string cabaret is considered top notch in New York, then those who later gave their blood, sweat and tears for "A Chorus Line" must have been exaggerating. Novak still looks great, but it's a real shame that she couldn't get a good script with believable characterizations. It's a middle of the road combination of the wretchedness of "Valley of the Dolls" and the later "Showgirls", minus the camp.
While Curtis is away, Novak begins to become involved with the much younger delivery boy, Michael Brandon, who follows her to Las Vegas while Curtis is seen with the rather nasty chorus girl played by Barbi Benton, a familiar name in the 1970s, but quite forgotten now. Curtis breaks into song several times, a indication of why he rarely appeared in musicals. There is an inside joke of one chorus girl doing the road company of "Sugar", the musical version of Curtis's 1959 classic "Some Like It Hot". Like in "Pal Joey", Curtis pulls Novak onstage against her will while she's barely wearing anything. The script seems to find all sorts of minor references to the cast's old works which would have worked better had this been a decent flick.
Probably the dullest folksong in music history is heard over and over again, threatening to put the viewer asleep from the moment it is heard in the opening credits. If dancing in a second string cabaret is considered top notch in New York, then those who later gave their blood, sweat and tears for "A Chorus Line" must have been exaggerating. Novak still looks great, but it's a real shame that she couldn't get a good script with believable characterizations. It's a middle of the road combination of the wretchedness of "Valley of the Dolls" and the later "Showgirls", minus the camp.