Can't Stop the Music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Can't Stop the Music | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Nancy Walker |
| Produced by | Allan Carr Henri Belolo Jacques Morali |
| Written by | Allan Carr Bronte Woodard |
| Starring | Alex Briley David Hodo Glenn Hughes Randy Jones Felipe Rose Ray Simpson Steve Guttenberg Valerie Perrine Bruce Jenner |
| Music by | Jacques Morali |
| Cinematography | Bill Butler |
| Editing by | John F. Burnett |
| Distributed by | Associated Film Distribution |
| Release date(s) | June 20, 1980 |
| Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Can't Stop the Music is a musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker in 1980. It is a pseudo-biography of disco's Village People which bears no resemblance to the actual story of the group's formation.
Released well after the disco craze had peaked in the United States, the film was a major critical and commercial failure and only did well in Australia. Since its initial failure, however, Can't Stop the Music has gained something of a cult status as a camp film.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Jack Morell (Guttenberg) is a composer looking for a band to play his songs. His roommate Samantha Simpson (Perrine), a supermodel who retired at the peak of her popularity, hears some of his songs when he DJs at a local disco and agrees to use her connections in the music industry to get him a record deal. Her "connection" is her ex-boyfriend Steve Waits, president of Marrakech Records (a reference to the Village People's real record label at the time, Casablanca Records). He's more interested in getting back together with her than in Jack's music but agrees to listen to a demo tape.
To make the demo, Samantha recruits Felipe the Indian, Randy the cowboy and David the construction worker from the streets of Greenwich Village. At the dinner party prior to recording, Ron White (Jenner), a lawyer from St. Louis, shows up to deliver a cake her sister sent. On the way to her apartment he's mugged and the police officer, Ray, who shows up to take the report ends up recruited for the session. Disgusted at the supposed decadence of Samantha's lifestyle, Ron leaves in a huff. Jack records the demo.
The next day Samantha runs into Ron at Steve's office. He apologizes and goes back to her place where they spend the night together.
Ron, now very interested in helping out the new group, offers up his law office for auditioning additional members. There Glenn the leatherman and Alex the G.I. join up and the group gets its name, "Village People," from an offhand remark from Ron's visiting mother. Ron's senior partner questions the appropriateness of the firm's representing the group and Ron huffily quits his job.
After grabbing more rehearsal time at the YMCA, the Village People cut their demo (the song "Liberation") for Marrakech. It doesn't go well and Steve offers a very paltry contract. Samantha turns it down and Samantha, Jack and Ron decide to self-finance the group by throwing a pay-party. Samantha initially tries to raise the money for the party by agreeing to return for one final modeling job, a television ad campaign for milk, but insists that the Village People also appear in the commercial. The advertisers reject the commercial but fortunately Ron's mother steps in to invite the group to appear at a charity fundraiser in San Francisco. In a last-ditch attempt to secure a deal with Marrakech, Samantha calls Steve to arrange a flight to San Francisco for the party. Ron is angered by the call and by the amount of skin Samantha showed in the commercial and Samantha breaks it off with him. The flight turns out to be a pretense to get Jack and Steve together (along with Jack's former chorine mother) to hash out a contract.
At the party, Ron realizes that Samantha didn't travel with Steve and he proposes. Ron gets hired back at his old law firm as a junior partner representing the group. Following a set by The Ritchie Family, the Village People make their triumphant debut.
[edit] Trivia
- Was the first movie to win Worst Picture in the 1980 Golden Raspberry Awards.
[edit] Critical response
- "Can't Stop the Music ushers in a whole new concept in entertainment -- it's the first all-singing, all-dancing horror film; the Dawn of the Dead of the disco era." Newsweek
- "The most conspicuous box office calamity of the summer." Film Review
[edit] Golden Raspberry Awards and nominations
- Won: Worst Picture
- Won: Worst Screenplay
- Nominated: Worst Actor (Bruce Jenner)
- Nominated: Worst Actress (Valerie Perrine)
- Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress (Marilyn Sokol)
- Nominated: Worst Director (Nancy Walker)
- Nominated: Worst "Original" Song ((You) Can't Stop the Music)
[edit] DVD release
Can't Stop the Music was released on Region 1 DVD on April 16, 2002.
