54 (1998)

Writer-director Mark Christopher worked hard at recreating the sinfully decadent magic of Manhattan's Studio 54, the number-one celebrity hangout from the late-1970s into the 1980s, but he skimped on the most intriguing part of the nightclub's history: the relationship between business partners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Mike Myers was a terrific choice for the flamboyant, eccentric Rubell, but Schrager has gone missing. Instead, the story is told from the point-of-view of a busboy-turned-bartender (!), a muscular rube whose innocence is soiled by boss Rubell's dirty business dealings and hedonistic trappings. The film has a low-budget feel which doesn't make itself present in the production so much as in the character-driven scenes, which are underpopulated, padded with real and faked black-and-photos, and further undermined by stilted dialogue. Ryan Phillipe is well-cast as the young stud from New Jersey whom Rubell takes under his wing, yet his voice-over narration is uncomfortably omnipresent, telling us things we can see or perceive for ourselves, and the interrelationships between the club staff are uninteresting. Some of the music is good, bringing back those long-ago nights of carefree sex and dancing-the-night-away, but Christopher doesn't grasp the big picture. As a result, the film (at best) is a series of precious little moments struggling to surface. ** from ****

Fmovies: The studio executives who ruined the first release version of this film in 1998 have a lot to answer for, but the director has had the last word and proved he was right all along, with the new Director's Cut (which I saw at the Sydney Film Festival tonight), which is an ENTIRELY different and improved experience. From now on, I don't think there should be any reason for anyone to watch the original release version again, the improvement is that dramatic. The one aspect that may irritate some viewers is that a few of the 'new' scenes have slightly lower image & sound quality than the rest of the film, as they obviously weren't able to find perfect quality footage for every restored scene, and the editing between some scenes doesn't always feel entirely smooth. And some weaknesses in the film still remain - such as Ryan Philippe, who is a bit limp despite being more than pretty enough for the role. But in so many other ways this is a far far better film, taking a film I'd only have rated maybe a 4 in the past, to at least a 7 now. About 40% of the film feels entirely changed, all for the better. There's a lot more life to the nights at the club, now that they've been able to put back the sex & drugs the studio removed (no movie about 1980-era disco makes any sense once you remove them). The parties are wild and bisexual and very disco. And the whole direction of the drama has been altered, now that the dull studio-imposed romance with Neve Campbell has been removed. Neve is still there in a small role, but the film now focuses on Ryan's love triangle with Salma Hayek & Breckin Meyer instead, which is far more interesting. Everyone who worked on the film should be happy with the Director's Cut, which proves they were making something pretty decent (until the studio stuffed it up).

When "54" got released, many critics claimed that it was just another attempt to get into the '70s nostalgia that had swept the country. It's more than that. The movie shows New York's Studio 54, an unusual club where young people danced to disco and could meet celebrities, as seen through the eyes of employee Shane O'Shea (Ryan Phillippe). At the end, he talks about, how after the government closed the place down, a corporation took it over and did what corporations always do: make the place safe and sterile. Steve Rubell (Mike Myers) built it up into a most unique hangout, and the corporation drained the life out of it.

So don't trust the critics. This was a really good movie.

54 fmovies. Studio 54 was a swift, colourful flick that showed us the true ins and outs of the seventies. The only difference is that the writers remembered the seventies .. thus, they obviously didn't really live the seventies atmosphere to its fullest. Mr Ryan Phillippe, in my opinion, took on an enormous task in performing this role ... I mean who else could you get to wear tight clothing, push pills, make drinks, take sexual harassment from a male employer, and still look pretty? Ms Campbell' purpose in this movie showed young girls that you can get somewhere with talent and not just looks. Basically, the script was compelling, the acting was sought as half way and ended up getting three quarters ... so overall I say that this isn't that bad of a flick if you are looking for something out of the everyday norm. I gave this movie a rating of a "9" because it is a personal favourite of mine, and the casting was one of the best combos, for my taste in movies. - David Wills christian 11/01/99

This movie should only be reviewed as the 2015's Director's Cut which is far superior to the original theatrical cut. While falling short of a masterpiece, the Director's Cut is an entertaining, fluent and fairly daring movie without the nonsensical and terrible re-shoot and editing decisions that sunk the earlier version.

This is, by no means, going on my 1998 Top Ten list, but I'm willing to cut it some slack. I thought it told the story quite well, and captured the rise and fall of Studio 54 wonderfully. The performances were all good, but it's Mike Myers that impressed the hell out of me. In this film he proved himself to be an actor, and a damn good one. Although I anxiously await the new Austin Powers flick, I hope that Myers keeps taking roles that force him to stretch his limits.