(Cheesy) Movies That I Love...Part 3

Staying Alive

Starring:  John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, and Finola Hughes

In 1983, this was the sequel to the blockbuster hit Saturday Night Fever.  But this time, Travolta's Tony Manero wasn’t winning Odyssey 2001 dance contests or chasing a cougar, he was auditioning for Broadway. 

So here’s the plot. Tony was dating Jackie (played Cynthia Rhodes), who was a fellow professional dancer and also sung in a nightclub with Carl (played by Frank Stallone) aka Sylvester Stallone's brother.  And speaking of Sylvester, he directed this movie....go figure.

Anyway, Tony wasn't a commitment kind of guy, so poor Jackie kind of got the shaft when Tony met another dancer named Laura (played by Finola Hughes).  She was beautiful, British, filthy rich, and a stuck up bitch.  She treated Tony like crap.  But apparently he enjoyed it, because he continued to pursue her, even when she was constantly dissing him.  And then he dumped on Jackie in the process.  Tony certainly hadn't gained any common sense or brain cells from his disco dancing days in Brooklyn.  Although he gained one hell of a body!  Yes that was shallow but seriously, Travolta never looked better (except for maybe Grease).

Back to the story...Laura was hired as the lead dancer in a Broadway show called "Satan's Alley" which I thought was a cool name.  She encouraged Tony to audition but since she was already banging the show's director, it was a given she'd get Tony hired. Though he was just a back-up dancer. Jackie also earned a spot, but she too was relegated to the back because no one would dare upstage the bitch Laura.  And though Laura was a good dancer, I thought Jackie was better.

So after auditions, Tony and Laura went sight seeing around Central Park. And then they ended up at her swanky penthouse, for some afternoon delight. But when Laura was through with him, she kicked him out. On his way home, the louse called Jackie, checking to see if she was alone. Tony had some serious cojones, being that he just left Laura's bed.  Shady much?

Jackie eventually figured out Tony was screwing around with Laura and told him she was DONE being his doormat.  Hallelujah she grew a backbone.

A great scene in the movie was when Tony told Jackie that Laura's (British) accent sounded so smart.  To which a highly agitated and hurt Jackie replied, that if having an accent made someone smart, then Tony would be Einstein. HAH!

Moving along...the show's rehearsals were in full swing, but the lead male dancer was royally stinking up the joint with his lackluster performance.  Cue Tony.  (Did anyone seriously think he wasn't going to end up dancing that lead?)

But before Tony spoke up about wanting it, he had the gall to ask Jackie for help.  He wanted her to practice the routine with him.  Because by that point, Laura had dumped Tony.  But Jackie still had a soft spot for him, so she agreed to help.  The dance between the two was beautifully done and just further proved that Jackie was the right girl for him.  The song they danced to was "Never Gonna Give You Up" and it was sung by Rhodes and Frank Stallone.

Later that night, after Tony walked Jackie home, he professed his love for her.  Personally, I would have made him beg a little more but it was a sweet moment.  The next day, Tony told the director that he wanted to give the lead a shot.  Much to bitchy Laura's chagrin. But Tony's first attempt was god awful, prompting him to bail.  He just needed a minute to cool off and soon returned, determined more than ever to prove he could do it.  So now the stage was set and after weeks of practicing, the show made it's Broadway debut.  The music in Satan's Alley was called "(We Dance) So Close to the Fire" by Tommy Faragher and it fit perfectly. The show was flowing beautifully, until at the end of the first sequence.  Stupid Tony kissed Laura.  Needless to say, she was pissed and dug her nails into the side of his face (around the eye area).  And of course Jackie witnessed this interaction. Tony offered up some lame excuse and Jackie quickly forgave him.  But before the big finale, Laura apologized to Tony and suggested they hook-up after the show.  Tony shockingly declined. Well, you know Laura wasn't used to being turned down, so with her oversized ego bruised, she hit Tony where it hurt.  She told him that he "didn't have what it took" to be a great dancer.  That was all the ammunition he needed to kick some major ass on the dance stage.  He tossed Laura aside (literally) and performed a solo dance (which wasn't a part of the show).  He chose to include her at the end but it was crystal clear that he WAS the show, not her.  OUCH!

Happy ending! Tony was vindicated and had Jackie at his side.  But the only thing Tony really wanted to do was....STRUT.  And of course one cannot strut in New York City without the backing of the Bee Gees.  Yup, another movie with the musical stylings of the Brothers Gibb.  Their signature "Staying Alive" which was the main song in Saturday Night Fever, was used once again. And smartly so.

The Bee Gees contributed a couple more songs on the soundtrack, "The Woman in You" and "Someone Belonging to Someone." Both good songs. But the huge hit off the soundtrack was Frank Stallone's "Far From Over" (see first You Tube video in post).  I have the soundtrack on CD and in my iTunes collection.  In fact, the song was playing as I was typing this. And of course, I own the DVD as well.

Director Sylvester Stallone had a brief cameo, in a scene where Tony was walking down the street, they bumped shoulders.

The infamous white suit from Saturday Night Fever made a special appearance. However, Tony jazzed it up with a blue t-shirt instead of the black.  Which kind of looked like he raided Miami Vice's Sonny Crockett's closet.

  

And last but not least, there was a scene where Tony and Laura argued after one of the show rehearsals. She shouted “Everybody uses everybody…don’t they?”  Her tone was pure bitch and the reason I mention this is because one of my best peeps, Melissa and I used to repeat that line constantly, British accent and all.  Ah the memories!  

Decent acting, good music, great dancing and Travolta dancing around in nothing but a small loincloth, yeah its a must-see!

Color of Blog

I apologize for the constant color changes.  I am trying to find one that I really like.  But I'm having a hard time deciding.

Of course, I should be working on the 'book' instead of worrying about the color palette of my blog.  But if you read my earlier post about me writing a novel then you are already aware that I get distracted easily. Obviously a little too easily.  

Anyway, I am kind of digging the red.  But I also don't want the readers to have serious eye strain from the strong color.

I'm partial to the darker colors myself, such as black or navy blue.  So don't be shocked to see it revert back to the black or me try something else.

And that my friends was the big dilemma of the day.  Yup, I have my priorities straight!

*lowers head sheepishly*


- Heather

(Cheesy) Movies That I Love...Part 2

I have so much to say about the following movie that it deserves a post all on it's own.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Starring:  The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton

The year was 1978 and this movie was inspired by the Beatles’ classic album of the same name.  I love this movie but its poor run at the box office had many people scratching their heads wondering "What the hell were they thinking?" 

But to me, this movie is just pure gold with a cast of many.  George Burns, Steve Martin, Aerosmith, and Alice Cooper just to name a few.    

The IMDB rating for it is a measly 3.5 out of 10 stars.  That's ridiculous.  How can anyone not love this movie or at least find the greatness in it?  

The movie goes like this...George Burns played Mr. Kite, the Mayor of Heartland, U.S.A.  He was also the movie's narrator. The Bee Gees (Barry Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin) played the Henderson brothers, who are also a musical group, which okay not a big stretch. And Frampton played Billy Shears, who added the 'pretty' to the group.  They were a newer version of the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.  The original members had left their magical musical instruments to Heartland and to the current members of the group.  The town embodied peace and love. (But you know all that sugary goodness can't last)

The band was perfectly content playing in Heartland until they received a too good to be true offer by sleazy record producer B.D. Hoffler played by Donald Pleasance, who would later go on to shoot Michael Myers.  But I digress.  Before the Hendersons and Billy headed to Hollywood, Billy had to bid farewell to his girlfriend, who was named....ready for this....Strawberry Fields (played by Sandy Farina).  

Of course once the band met with Hoffler, the were instantly seduced by gorgeous women, booze, drugs, and boatloads of money.  While poor Strawberry was left back in Heartland to pine for her beloved Billy. That was until Mean Mr. Mustard (played by Frankie Howerd) arrived in town and stole the magical instruments. And that dastardly act turned the once warm and fuzzy Heartland into a dark and desolate place. So Strawberry hightailed it to Hollywood to find Billy and the brothers to tell them what had happened. Except Miss Fields was utterly shocked and dismayed upon finding that Billy had been lured to the dark side and was canoodling with a seductress named Lucy (played by Dianne Steinberg).

But things got much worse for Strawberry, when she was kidnapped by Mean Mr. Mustard then tied to a giant aquamarine neon light (okay I'll admit that was cheesy) while the evil Future Villain Band aka Aerosmith performed "Come Together" which is a nice cover in my opinion.  But anyway, Billy tried desperately to save Strawberry by fighting the nameless evil character played by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.  Billy won the fight but sadly lost Strawberry, who plunged to her death.  I was only 7 years-old when this movie came out, but I'm pretty sure the moment she died I was seriously asking WTF??  

Billy, the brothers, and a deceased Strawberry returned to Heartland for her funeral. Where she was buried in a glass encased casket, which was kind of strange but she looked positively ethereal, so the scene was quite effective. And this is when we were treated to Frampton's version of "Golden Slumbers" along with the Bee Gee's rendition of "Carry That Weight." Both songs were from the Beatles' Abbey Road album. And I am sure some are gonna yell blasphemy when I say this, but I preferred their two versions better than the Beatles.  *Ducking from tomatoes*

But even with those awesome songs, I was completely bummed when afterward the funeral Billy almost attempted suicide. Talk about a shitty ending.  But...not so fast.  The town hall weather vane aka Billy Preston had something to say (sing) about that.  And he told everyone to "Get Back" and with his laser shooting trumpet, he miraculously turned back time.  Meaning Strawberry was no longer dead and was reunited with Billy...making my little 7 year-old heart very happy!  And once again all was copacetic in Heartland.  

The soundtrack was all kinds of fantastic. My mom had the vinyl and I played it on my little red record player all the time.  I tried to buy the soundtrack on iTunes but sadly it's not available.  

I grew up listening to the Bee Gees as my mom was a huge fan of theirs, she even saw them in concert back in the day.  I proudly house Bee Gees songs in my iTunes library and my heart was deeply saddened by the loss of both Maurice and Robin.  Gone way before their time.  *sigh*

RIP Maurice and Robin. 

- Heather

Same Blog, Different Name...

For the past 4 years, I have been working on a 'novel' which has kind of become a running joke.  Because for one I never considered myself a writer and second I didn't know that I actually enjoyed writing until about 2007.

I wrote a little fan fiction for awhile and it was fun, but thought why not try an actual novel.  So at the end of 2008, I started it.

Well, its October 2012 and is that novel completed?  NOPE!

I could come up with lots of excuses why it's not done.  But here are a few 'legit' reasons.  The first being that I have way too many versions of it.  Can't complete a book when I keep changing my mind on the plot.  Second excuse, I'm easily distracted.  I always have good intentions on 'working' on the book but it doesn't always pan out the way I planned.  Third excuse, I'm not really a writer and think my writing is just not good.  Yes, I'm a perfectionist who is super hard on herself (excuse #765).

The last two reasons are why I haven't let anyone read any of it.

So this is where the 'Delusional Novelist' comes into play.  Because its really just me being sarcastic.  I'm NOT really delusional at all.  I'm a realist who knows getting a book published and have it be successful is a major long shot.

The running joke is that people that know me or who learn that I am writing a book will ask, "How is it coming?" or they say, "Can't wait to read it." To which I give my stock answer...don't hold your breath.  Again that's just me being sarcastic (which cannot be helped since I was genetically predisposed to it).

Anyway, I've decided to get serious about the 'novel' and see what I can do with it.  My grandmother, who is no longer with us, had some great sayings and one that fits perfectly right now is "shit or get off the pot" and that's exactly what I'm going to do.  For me to work this long and hard on a story and not put myself out there might be something I would forever regret.

Even if it fails, I can still say that I at least tried. And that's something.


- Heather
The Delusional Novelist