Lisa M. Chmiola
Staff Writer
Review
Two young women try to make a living in the big city. Sounds like the basic plotline to many a movie or television sitcom, right?
Although this is the driving story behind The Last Days of Disco, the movie has much more to it than a regular Laverne and Shirley episode.
Set in the early 1980s, the lives of Alice (Chloe Sevigny) and Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) are not always hunky-dory. The two have recently graduated from Hampshire College and landed jobs at a Manhattan book publishing company, poring over manuscripts and typing acceptance or rejection letters.
While it may sound good, the girls are struggling to make ends meet, living in women's housing that doesn't allow them to invite guests over. And when they decide to move into an apartment, it ends up being a railroad apartment (so named because, like a railroad car, one must travel through each room to get to the next).
And as if that's not enough cramped space, they take in a third roommate, Holly (Tara Subkoff).
But Alice and Charlotte have discovered an escape from the trials of daily life - the disco. Although never named in the movie, the nightclub they frequent closely resembles New York's legendary Studio 54, and viewers not familiar with the club's history or atmosphere may miss out on references to it in the film.
Like Studio 54 and other clubs in the late '70s and early '80s, colorful regulars are bountiful. Jaid Barrymore makes a cameo as Tiger Lady, an actual Studio 54 legend who dressed in tight tiger prints. And the drugs are there too, although not as blatantly as countless Studio stories recount.
It is at this club that the duo hooks up with the opposite sex, which leads to the group social life element of the film.
Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) is the eager advertising representative whose job hinges on being able to get clients into the club, which isn't easy with crowds at the door and a front-entrance tyrant picking and choosing who gets in. Jimmy is also an object of Alice's affection.
But Alice is also hot to trot for Tom (Robert Sean Leonard), a corporate lawyer. Meanwhile, Josh (Matt Keeslar) holds a torch for Alice, along with a job in the district attorney's office. Des (Chris Eigeman) rounds out the group; he sneaks his friends in the back door if they can't get into the club.
The plot and character development plays on the struggle between the group dynamic and the inevitable pairing off of dating. As each character switches partners, the viewer sees a different side of his or her personality.
The movie is extremely reliant on dialogue, using it to display the characters' intellectual levels and wit. But at times it seems as if the actors are just chatting mindlessly. Any time Charlotte opens her mouth, one is left wondering when the group bitch will shut her yap and quit hurting someone's (usually Alice's) feelings.
As for the acting, Sevigny really brings Alice to life, taking her from the plain Jane she was in college to a successful and desirable woman. She is able to communicate her hurt and happiness in a way that draws viewers into her life.
But perhaps there are too many characters in the group to develop anyone else's role the way Alice's is.
Maybe it is writer/producer/
director Whit Stillman's intent to make Alice the shining star and leave the rest just specks in the black night sky.
On the bright side, moviegoers who actually lived through the disco era (like many in the screening's audience) will enjoy the soundtrack, which features hits by Blondie and Chic. It'll keep the toes tapping when the action is lagging.
The Last Days of Disco is simply another piece of the glitterball resurgence in the last few years.
Go if you're in the mood to reminisce, and don't forget the go-go boots.
Movies are rated on a one- to five-star scale.