Infamous for barely recouping its cost at the box office upon release, this gaudy fantasy-musical could not exactly be described as good, but is nonetheless eye-catching and contains some bouncy and enjoyable songs. Beck plays a struggling artist, mired in a nowhere job reproducing record album covers. Skating (yes
) to his rescue is Newton John, a muse sent to Earth in order to help him realize his potential. Meanwhile, one of her former objects of affection during a prior stint on Earth, Kelly, has a chance to have his own dreams fulfilled. Beck and Kelly pair up in order to create the ultimate nightclub, a 40s meets 80s showplace with a built-in skating floor. That's pretty much it as far as plot goes. Beck, taking over a role originally intended for Andy Gibb, isn't really at home in this milieu. He's trying, but the material is frequently substandard and he doesn't exactly soar in his few moments involving dance movement. Newton John is exceedingly lovely to look at and her voice is terrific, though she is basically playing a flavorless mannequin much of the time. Diction was never her strongest suit when singing, so the DVD's closed-captioning comes in handy, especially during some less familiar songs at the end. Her beauty transcends some really vomitous Little Roller Rink on the Prairie outfits before the finale where she is allowed a variety of fun looks. Kelly ought to be more embarrassed then he is to be found here, though it is undeniably great to see him still moving with aplomb through several dance sequences. Despite the overwhelming tackiness, he still had it (and even put some skates on, himself, briefly!) These three comprise most of the cast, though there are some sequences in Beck's workplace that are so poorly written and pitifully acted that they are excruciating. (These elements were wisely eliminated from the later Broadway musical adaptation.) Veteran actors Hyde-White and Brown vocally portray Zeus and Hera in one scene. There's a lot of neon special effects work and even an animated sequence by Don Bluth (in which the female looks NOTHING like ONJ, though the male resembles Beck!) The music, half provided by Newton John's pal John Farrar and half by Electric Light Orchestra, is alternately lovely and invigorating, though the energetic, heavily-synthesized numbers are frequently paired with some preposterous dance moves (more like displays than dances!) At the time of filming, nothing was hotter than roller-skating, so that was featured rather heavily. This lends an inherent campiness to the project now, apart from all the other aspects such as the clothing, sets and music. The film contains, perhaps, the most annoying scene change wipes in the history of cinema. The soundtrack was a smash success and it's the songs and the wacky visuals that give the film its entertainment value. The plot doesn't hold up (it was cobbled together during filming!) For example, Beck is a frustrated artist, but his fulfilled dream has nothing to do with drawing or painting. The ending with he leads hardly makes sense, either, based on what's come before. Still, it's a garish, goofy good time for those in the mood. Look quickly in several of the dance sequences for alternately overemphatic and blank-faced Lattanzi, who would soon marry Newton John and father her child Chloe.
Review of Xanadu
