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Staying Alive

I wasn't particularly moved by "Saturday Night Fever," with due exception to its commendable music and energetic dance sequences, so it should come as no surprise that "Staying Alive" ranks as one of the biggest sequel bombs in moviemaking history. Rather that take out my angst against the original by referring to its lackluster character development and comparing it to the absence of this film, I'm simply going to pose you this question: What do Broadway, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, and the 80's craze have in common? Aside from this atrocity? Nothing. ***

Tony Manero, the king of the disco dance floor from "Fever," is back, this time residing in Manhattan and trying to make it on the Broadway stage. He's finally found what he wants to be: too bad it happens to be in this movie. Along the journey of life he comes into opportunity by meeting an illustrious dancer named Laura (Finola Hughes), who offers him a chance to achieve his dream. This causes relationship tension between Tony and his current flame, Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes); to reveal more is basically to give away the movie's five-minutes-in-ninety-three story, so if you have to know, it's up to you. ***

In his forth directing effort, Sylvester Stallone seems to have forgotten everything that made his countless "Rocky" sequels so embraceable. In what appears to be an attempt to capture the flavor of the era and the energetic moves of the 80's, not to mention the success of the original film, he neglects to make any instance in the film enjoyable. The music is annoying and uninspired, as are the lackluster dance routines, which are gawdy and over-the-top, but have no zest or appeal. Travolta seems lost in his role, unable to find the roots of his original character, while Hughes and Rhodes are basically stand-bys. In the history of movies, few have been as inexplicably bad and uncomfortable as this: suffice it to say, "Staying Alive" doesn't.