The 1980s ushered in the era of the blockbuster, a type of film with an entirely different filmmaking philosophy than the eras that preceded it. The Golden Age of Hollywood (1927-1968), was the period of the studio system and production code. While this period did produce many of Hollywood’s most beloved films and stars, it was definitely not an era that encouraged individualism and art. While money is the main goal of most film productions, in the Golden Age, it was the only goal. No matter how creative or avant-garde a film might have been, if it didn’t turn a profit, Hollywood executives didn’t care. Too many failed projects, and the star would be labeled “box office poison,” and kicked to the curb.
By the late 1960s, with the fall of the studio system and implementation of the modern ratings system, the New Hollywood movement took off. This movement brought a lot of more contemporary themes to the big screen like Vietnam, and the women’s rights movement. Young Hollywood filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, free from the rigid production code adhered to by their Golden Age predecessors, were able to take more risks with their themes and content. Growing advances in computers and technology led to more advanced filmmaking, seen in films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, both released in 1977. The new Hollywood films of the 1970s often were more gritty, more realistic and presented a less glamorous side of life.
The 1980s ushered in the age of the blockbuster–films that were specifically made to appeal to the mass audience’s senses and yield the highest box office. Gone were the convoluted plots of the film noir of the 1940s. Gone were the experimental films of New Hollywood. While there were definitely outliers, many of the 1980s films didn’t have the heavy, dreary plots of their 1970s predessors. Plots were simple, but entertaining. Comedians like Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Christopher Guest, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Rodney Dangerfield, and Eddie Murphy (to name a few), were given the chance to star in hilarious comedies that exhibited their unique type of comedy. Action stars like Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon) were popular for their action-packed, but also funny, series of films.
The content of films featuring teenagers changed (simultaneously for better and for worse) as they featured more realistic plots such as in Valley Girl (1983) and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), but were also made to appeal to adult men, which was definitely a step in the wrong direction. Actors who were part of the “Brat Pack” (Demi Moore, Ralph Macchio, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Anthony Michael Hall, Andrew McCarthy, to name a few) were featured heavily in teen films of the era. Also featured heavily in 1980s films was music.
Soundtracks in the 1980s really upped their ante with film after film being chockful of catchy tunes and themes written for the film (“Ghostbusters” and “Axel F,” anyone?). Pop singers and bands were recruited by filmmakers to contribute one or more tunes to the soundtrack. Other films featured soundtracks comprised of a dozen or more popular songs, specifically chosen to fit the mood and tone of the scene. To finally get to the point in this article, two such films featured with excellent soundtracks are the “so bad, they’re good” Xanadu (1980) and Road House (1989) which bookended the decade and showed the complete shift from the late 1970s-1980s era of disco and New Wave to the new Aqua Net enhanced hairy, yet grungy late 1980s.
In Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John, still riding the success of Grease (1978) from two years prior, starred as Kira, one of the nine muses of Olympus. One day in Los Angeles, Sonny Malone (Michael Beck), a struggling artist, tosses one of his failed sketches into the wind. It lands in front of a mural depicting the nine muses of Olympus, which suddenly comes alive. The other eight muses fly away, but Kira skates towards Sonny and kisses him.
Sonny’s job involves him painting album cover reproductions. He is tasked with painting an album cover for a group called “The 9 Sisters.” The cover features a mysterious woman standing in front of an Art Deco building. Sonny realizes that the mysterious woman is the woman who kissed him earlier. His boss states that she isn’t supposed to be on the cover and that she’s popped up in previous covers he’s done as well. Obviously the “mysterious woman” is Kira. Sonny manages to track her down and learns her name.
Sonny then meets Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly), a former clarinet player and orchestra leader. He is now a successful construction mogul. Danny and Sonny get to talking and Danny tells Sonny that in the 1940s, he fell in love with a big band singer who resembled Kira. Eventually Kira encourages the two men to open a nightclub together, Xanadu, inside the old abandoned Art Deco building seen in Sonny’s album cover.
Xanadu is ridiculous. The plot sounds good on paper, but wasn’t executed properly. The script apparently changed day-to-day, with parts even being written during filming (which worked for Casablanca; but it did not for Xanadu!). Parts of the story feel disjointed–especially the Don Bluth-animated sequence. The sequence was a shortcut the producers took to showcase an additional song and shoehorned it in–and it shows, horribly. However, the poor execution of everything is also what gives the film its charm.
It is amazing that the film got Gene Kelly, even a legend in 1980, to appear in this film. Kelly is the highlight of this film. He more or less reprises his character from 1945’s Cover Girl, except obviously there is no mention of Rita Hayworth or Phil Silvers’ characters. Kelly appears in my favorite part of the movie, the “Glitz Makeover” scene, where he’s given a snappy new wardrobe, more in line with the film’s aesthetic. He is also given a chance to dance and performs a genuinely charming dance number with Olivia Newton-John. At the end of the film, he appears on roller skates at the opening of Xanadu. In a move that should surprise no one, Gene Kelly choreographed all his numbers and controlled the filming of his dance number with Newton-John. She called dancing with Kelly one of the highlights of her career. Despite the star power of Kelly and Newton-John, Xanadu ultimately failed at the box office. One big reason was that when the film went into production at the end of 1979 (alongside one of my other favorite “so bad, it’s good” films, Roller Boogie), roller disco was popular. By the beginning of 1980, the fickle audience hated roller disco.
Despite how one may feel about roller disco, what cannot be argued however, is the awesomeness of the soundtrack. Olivia Newton-John and her longtime producer/writer, John Farrar, and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) both contributed about a half dozen songs to the bangin’ soundtrack. Newton-John’s “Magic,” “Suddenly” and the title track, “Xanadu” all come from this film. ELO was the perfect choice for this film as their style of music and image meshed perfectly with the New Wave, roller disco, fantasy aesthetic of Xanadu.
Flash forward nine years. The 1980s are almost at a close with hair metal and glam rock on its way out and grunge is on its way in. Flannel and Doc Martens, fashion almost synonymous with the 1990s, has replaced the power suits of the 1980s. Also popular during this time is the Rockabilly look and the ever classic mullet. And let me tell you, nobody, NOBODY, has ever rocked the mullet better than Patrick Swayze in Road House. Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China is a close second.
It can be argued that Road House is a modern version of the classic American Western, a film genre that was also making a comeback during the 1980s. In Road House, Swayze plays James Dalton, the professional bouncer who is hired by Frank Tilghmann, owner of the Double Deuce road house in Jasper, Missouri. To draw correlations between Road House and the Western, Dalton (as he’s known throughout the film) is more or less the sheriff brought in to clean up the town (aka the Double Deuce).
The beginning scenes of Road House feature an insanely rowdy bar, full of drunks, breaking the furniture and throwing things at the house band protected by a cage. These fight scenes are juxtaposed against the music coming from the amazing house band, led by blind guitarist, Jeff Healey. Healey and his band deliver a rendition of my favorite song by The Doors, “Roadhouse Blues.” Not to be outdone, Patrick Swayze also sings on the soundtrack (though he doesn’t perform at the road house). Much of the Road House soundtrack is comprised of rowdy classic rock songs and other popular music, including Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine,” Dion’s “Runaround Sue,” and Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.”
Dalton starts to clean up the rowdy bar by firing anyone who does not agree with his philosophy. He repeatedly coaches his employees to refrain from fighting, but isn’t above getting into brawls himself, as long as they’re outside. Road House is full of tons of amazing fight scenes, well choreographed and executed perfectly by Patrick Swayze, a professional dancer.
Dalton makes a mistake however, when he fires the nephew of Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), a local businessman who essentially runs the town. He and his gang have a hold over all the other local businesses, and use their control to make demands. If the business owners fail to acquiesce, Brad and his gang will use violence to make sure that the business owner pays. Dalton solidifies his position as Brad’s #1 enemy by pursuing a romantic relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Clay (Kelly Lynch), to whom Brad is also attracted. Obviously, she is going to date Dalton. Who would turn down Patrick Swayze in his prime? Brad’s hatred of Dalton starts to hurt operations at the Double Deuce after Dalton gets it turned around.
For his Doc Holliday, Dalton recruits his friend, Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott), a legendary bouncer known across the industry. Together, Dalton and Wade join forces to take down Brad and his gang. Sam Elliott sports great hair in this movie! Interspersed with the action scenes and fighting, are shots of Dalton practicing tai chi, which he does as a form of relaxation. I’m not a tai chi expert, I don’t know if Swayze is even doing it correctly. But it doesn’t even matter. These are shots fully intended to show off his bod. These scenes are for the ladies not digging the rowdy fighting scenes. Personally, I like both.
While Road House was ridiculed upon its release mainly for the emphasis on showing off Patrick Swayze’s body, and the gratuitous fighting scenes, crude language and dialogue. However, the gratuitous fight scenes, language, dialogue and Swayze’s body are the whole reasons to watch the film.
Are Xanadu and Road House good films? No. Probably not. Are they fun films? Yes. Both films are very fun, and in my book, if they’re fun, then they’re good. Sometimes an entertaining film is enough. Not every film needs to change the world.
RIP Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton-John, and Patrick Swayze.
