XANADU - Robert Greenwald, dir

©1980
studio: Universal Pictures
production company:
director: Robert Greenwald
cast: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan, Dimitra Arliss, Katie Hanley, Fred McCarren, Ren Woods, Sandahl Bergman
screenplay: Richard Christian Danus, Marc Reid Rubel

A muse comes to life to help make the dreams of two different artists come true.

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Oh my goodness. Not only did I watch this, I actually own it. Why? I'm a huge Gene Kelly fan, and felt (feel) that I should have this, one of his last films.

And, dare I say it, I didn't hate it.

I saw the movie in the theatres when it first came out, and it hasn't necessarily improved with age, but it hasn't gotten any worse. There is still a terrible musical section when Kelly, Newton-John, and Beck go shopping and a crowd of David Bowie-wannabees goof around to some bad ELO sounds. Other than that, it is actually pretty watch-able.

The problem with the film is a lack of cohesive story. It's made out to be Beck's story, but ultimately it is Kelly's dream that is realized and Beck is coerced into believing that it's his dream as well. Why? No reason. Just poor writing/directing.

Kelly could easily lead the picture, but takes a secondary role to the unknown and poor actor, Beck. Nothing is ever made of the fact that Kelly's lost love looks an incredible amount like Kira, the muse.

A tighter script, more attention to actual focus could have made this movie a real hit. I hope that the Broadway remake has corrected this!