Mike Myers transforms himself to play Steve Rubell, the nightclub impresario who created Manhattan's Studio 54 to be the center of the party universe in the closing years of the 1970s. Rubell is a fascinating character, performed by Myers with a mix of savvy, pathos and self-absorption. If writer/director Mark Christopher had had the common sense to make 54 the story of Steve Rubell, he might have created a great film. Instead, he makes his protagonist a New Jersey kid (Ryan Phillippe) who comes to Manhattan in 1979 to break away from his dead-end life. 54's base-line narrative is so trite it almost plays like a parody, a disco-era spoof of Midnight Cowboy. Phillippe and most of his co-stars--including Neve Campbell and Salma Hayek--are so plastic that their inclusion is terribly ironic: like Studio 54 itself, the film invites them in just to stand around and look attractive. Steve Rubell would have been disgusted to see his Studio 54 turned into something so...mundane. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 13, 2012—Lionsgate, 104 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's 54 suffers from a mediocre transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include the music video for “If You Could Read My Mind” by Stars on 45, and trailers. Bottom line: an unremarkable Blu-ray debut for an unremarkable film.]
54
(Miramax, 93 min., R, avail. Jan. 12) Vol. 14, Issue 1
54
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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