I Am All In Minisode: Henry's Movie Review (S1, E3) “Flashdance"

I mean, the guy really knows where to put a camera. Uh, he knows how to light a light a scene. It's I thought Jennifer Beals was an exciting, fresh, compelling talent, very gentle yet powerful performance. Um, a true movie star. I'm mystified as to why, or at the time when I was watching, I was mystified as to why she wasn't a bigger box office star. Um. But let me get your impressions of it, Scott. This is gonna be the first time you and I butt heads. I am

not a fan of this movie. I I know, I know. I'm sorry. This is where the frontier pushes back, uh, we we we You and I love the Goonies and we both saw The Beauty and the Wonder and Rosemary's Baby. But I'm not a dance I'm not a dance guy. I'm not a Broadway musical like. I don't like that show aspect. I like a good plot, I like good character develop I like twists here and there. And I saw this movie and the only thing that I took from it that that that I felt something was and

again that this is maybe an unpopular opinion. I'm twenty two years old, I'm probably from a different time, but what a feeling by Irene Cara or care I don't know how to pronounce her name. That song, the Flash Dance song, is the only thing that I was like, Okay, all right, this is this is something. But and you know, the the final scene was cool, but I just didn't the movie didn't. It didn't speak to me. And maybe

it could have, but maybe it just didn't speak to me. Right. Well, it's it's just, you know, it's a girl from a working class era part of Pittsburgh who was a welder, who didn't have money, but she had her dance and she had her passion and I just, you know, really

root for somebody. And the thing I appreciate so much about her performance we're going to break down her performance a little bit, was that she didn't all into this sort of you know, putting on these affected um attitudes and accent of a working class girl, because you know, she's from south Side Chicago, so you know, some of the sweetest, most gentle, most loving and lovely people come from the inner city. It doesn't have to be this

hard scrabbled, tough ass girl. It's like, here's this very vulnerable, very gentle girl. And she didn't have to play. She didn't play that. She just was that. So that's very difficult to do and it and it really comes down to the choice and how how smart a person she is and how smart an actress she is to know that to trust that, like, I'm from one of these areas, um, but I doesn't mean I have to be the stereotypical like tough chick who, like you know, has this sort

of hard edge and attitude. Not at all. If anything, she removed that, and she became softer and softer and softer and more vulnerable, and she showed us who she was, which is really you know, the hard h of the character and and it was just a one I just I would have followed her through any situation, no matter how poorly written it was, no matter how dated it was, no matter how it didn't age well, you know, with the Michael Murray stuff, and you know, we have to

depend on the rich guy who's connected to help help her out and all that kind of you know, contrived stuff. But um, um, I really appreciate the film, and I can see why it's an iconic film, um, And all the insecurities that she felt going into that audition to see all those you know, those upper crusty girls with their ballet shoes and their outfits, and then they looked down upon her and and sneered at her, and it's

you know, it was. It was a very formulaic film with a very delightful, very compelling, fresh talent and Jennifer Beale's with a very gifted director who was saddled with this sort of a mediocre script. I'm sure you're familiar with Rotten Tomatoes, right They judge movies in the past, you know this this company is twenty one century and they judge movies in the past with the century film outlook. And so I think someone like on Rotten Tomatoes, like

staff like critique because they gave the movie. It's interesting. They gave the movie the critics say, and the audience say, now here's here's here's here's where I'm coming. I'm gonna

I'm gonna see both lenses of this film. I think anyone if you ask my parents or my aunts and uncles, or anyone who grew up in the eighties and was it youth, or just anyone who was very familiar with the culture, they would say, Oh my god, this is this is a show stopper, This is incredible, this is this is iconic, this is this is the movie of my time, of the decade. Because you had to be there. It was kind of one of those movies in the age you just had to be there to understand. Is

is that? That's my understanding of it, because I think I'm the outside looking in. This movie is just compared to the other movies like this, uh you know where. It's about an underdog who overcomes adversity and and it tries and tries and fails and fails until he or she gets her his or her big shot and succeeds. I think you had to be there to really love this film. Otherwise a guy like me who sees and goes, oh yeah, it's just like whatever, I mean it it's

okay or it's fine. Does that make sense that I don't feel like I'm rooted to it right? Well, no, there's I mean, it's like asking you know, when I was your age, it's like asking me to go back going on, you know, to to watch a film that was, you know, sort of lukewarm received, and yeah, I I totally got it, you know, but I you know, that's when I was, you know, I was what twenty four years old in three So it wasn't a film that I went to see. Let's just put it that way.

It wasn't in my It didn't check my boxes at the time. So I never saw Flashdance. I never saw the film when I was a kid or when I was in my early twenties, and I never really wanted to. It wasn't ye know, but a you know a lot of people liked it. A lot of women loved it, and now I can see why, and I watched it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did. And I look, I not all films age well and uh this was one

of them, but a lot of it did age. And you know, I thought, I thought some of those you know, those uh you know those strip club owner beating him up in the parking lot scenes and and then coming you know, then he would be back and you know, a couple of scenes later back in the club saying he was sorry and all this. I mean, it was just like, you know, if if this guy pulled this kind of stuff today, he'd be he would be canceled

or east and arrested, and right exactly. I also want to say that, you know, I Michael Nourri was a very prominent actor back then on television, and um I found him to be particularly delightful in this film because he you know, he was very gentle with her. He

he was obviously older. I mean, she was what eighteen years old, nineteen years old in this film, and he was divorced with I think a kid, and you know, he he screwed up his life and then he got it together and then he started this company where she works at and now he's like, you know, one of the wealthiest guys in town. But you know, he played it like a very sensitive soul who was you know. I kind of like them together because he made it easy for her to fall in love with him. He

wasn't hard edged. He was just sort of open and charming and lovely and understanding. And and even though it didn't you know, a lot of the scenes didn't age well, his attitude toward her. I mean, he treated her with respect, he really did. He really really cheated her very gently, and no meant no, and you know, he was not pulling any of this macho stuff. And um, I I liked watching these two together. I thought they were magical together.

I really really liked it. And I especially liked how he handled the scene when his ex wife came in when they were having dinner, when she was wearing the tails um uh, you know, the the tuxedo shirt at the dinner and looking so great and and he just sort of kind of, you know, that's okay, hon, you know whatever. I mean. He really he never gave away his power, uh, and he never tried to have too

much power. And I just it was just two actors working on a very high level, I thought, with a limited script, and I thought they did a wonderful job. And I just don't think you could have found two more appealing people to put together. And you know, both very attractive people. Um, but I just think that very pleasant people to be around. And I enjoyed the hour and a half or hour forty because I got to be around these two people. Um, I agree with you.

I think I think you're dead. You're dead right with the casting and just kind of how the couple made you feel. Because part of the whole ambiguous nature of this movie is is this guy shady, is dark? What's going on with this other mistress? And and I guess the big plots of the movie was, yeah, it's his ex wife and there their interaction was at a charity event and when Alex chucked the brick through his window and kind of thinking this is okay, this is when

this is when everything started. The crab is gonna hit the fan. Uh No, he's just really just a good guy. It was a misunderstanding and it's a genuine relationship and you kind of root for it. You root for her, you root for him, and then you you root for them together. And then at the end, like I said, it's a great ending because you know, she gets another chance at the dance in front of the judges, got a great song, and we have a great love, very combustible,

passionate romance between these two unlikely lovers. As you said, the age difference is a little unsettling at first, but then you kind of just grow with it and you kind of ignore it because it's true of and it's genuine, and it's great to watch. She's just a young young girl who was not getting any support from home, who had a father who didn't understand either either, one of his daughters, who kind of came around with his ice

skating daughter. And you know, it was the good guy and the stand up guy when she lost the competition and she fell and made her know, there was some nice moments there, but they they didn't get her. They didn't get that she was welder and a dancer, and you know, I was like, what is going on? And

and he was just so checked out. And so here you have this very lovely, very sensitive, talented young girl on her own, working as a welder in Pittsburgh, living in this loft with her dog, and you know, having dreams and it's just it's such a it's such a magnetic story. It's just such a um you know, there's so many people in and it doesn't matter what year it is or how many decades ago it was. There's so many people in the same circumstances that are it's aspirational.

And I thought, what a what a wonderful example, and what a wonderful piece of casting to choose Jennifer Beals to represent all of the people who aspire to be UM. And I just I just think if they'd pick somebody else that wouldn't have had the impact. I just think it was all about are the star power of Jennifer Beale's and the magical configuration between Jennifer Beals and Michael nourri Um. Yeah, I just and this is the this

is why it's iconic. It is it is It is the casting of these two and the performances that they give UM. And I think Adrian Line helped a lot because there was some really kind of avant garde um scenes in the beginning of the dancing, especially very racy dancing, and it was it was, you know, it let you know that this this film has a hard edge. This is this is what these girls do, this is how they earn a living. This is how tough it can

get in the inner city sometimes. You know, this is what they are that there are no other options for these women, and this is what they're doing to get ahead to to fund their you know, ballet classes and shoes and you know, I mean it's not cheap. It doesn't pay for itself, right, So, um, I don't know. I was just I was very moved by the whole thing. And it's a film that I will watch again and enjoy again because there was a lot of art in it and there was a lot of very positive stuff

coming out of that film. I really enjoyed that film. Yeah, what would you rate the film out of ten? Including decimals? Here we go the question of the day. I mean, I want to give it, gosh. I mean, I'm I'm gonna be generous. I really love the film. You've been quite generous. I know, I know, I know, I know I didn't need a ten out of ten something. I don't know if I could ever home run home run of a film, home run of a film should have been nominated for an Oscar. But Flash Dance, I mean,

I want to give it. I'm so fond of that film, and I'm so fond of her performance in Michael Norri's performance. Um, I'm gonna give it a nine poet six interesting six, you know what, everyone is in the title to their own opinion, and it's beautiful that way. I will say, I'm going to give this a six point seven, you know, and and here's and it's because it's out of respect for my elders, because they have been the feelings of nostalgia from this era, something I don't have, and I

can't respect the film the same. I just don't have it. I thought it was beautiful with the dancing, and I thought Jennifer Beales was awesome and Michael Neury we we talked about the relationship. I thought that was great. But for me, you know me, I love a good plot, I love good twist, character development. I'm a big dialogue guy, and of course I like stuff that ages well and it's fresh day after day after day. So yes, it is above a five, meaning it is watchable. In my eyes,

it's in the six cregory meaning it's okay. Six point seven means it's okay going on good because it is right there, and I have respect for the film as a whole, and you have to respect how iconic it is. So yes, six point seven of tend you're come to pitch forks and knives from everyone who grew up in the time. It's just it's just what what I The way I think about it is maybe it wasn't a perfect film. I thought that dialogue was handled very well. It was minimal If it wasn't right on the nose,

it was minimalist, and I appreciated that. I like the fact that she didn't say too much, and I like the fact that he didn't say too much and they got their point across. I like those scenes. Um. But the way I think about this film historically is how it's inspired so many people, especially women, to go for it.

And there aren't a lot of really great films that do that, and a lot of films attempt to do it, but I think this film actually did it be because it's hard to really it's hard to get an audience to fall in love with a lead character. Hard to do it. They picked the right actress, they put her with the right director, they teamed her with the right male star. And as far as comfort food or support for your dreams, if you're feeling down in the mouth,

and you want to go back and get inspired. You watch you know, you could you could go back to Flashdance and you could watch that and get some strength. So, you know, what, what is the meaning of film? What purposes? Film service society? What you know? It means different things to different people. So from that perspective, I'm giving it a nine point What did I say? Six or seven? Nine points? That was beautiful, by the way, that was that was right from the heart. I appreciate that. That

was awesome. You know, there are there are sort of junkie films sometimes that inspire people. This this was not a junkie film. I thought this was a it had it had some very fine moments. Um. Anyway, I'll leave it at that. Awesome, Scott, here's the here's the word from the producers is a tease for next episode. We actually get to review something, a movie that I'm very

passionate about. So maybe this is what you get a chance to dive into my psyche and what what what gets me out of the bed every morning as a film lover. We get to analyze the sixth sense good, yeah, yes, I know, I'm fired up. Mentioned in the fabulous Sinnamons Wake episode of The Gilmour Girls. But the sixth sense I I can't even stand on. I'm ecstatic about revealing that we're gonna break that down out okay, good, I'm looking forward to that one. But to that was a

great episode today. And I love to hear your heart really pour out in the microphone coming out from the movie because I could see how it. I can see the inspiration and it gives you and and and many people that from your generation. I think that's beautiful. Um, you get to see that sixth cents inspires me a little bit next week. Deal, good deal, buddy, all right man, um, alright, Henry, I guess that's gonna do it for this episode. So

uh so, thanks everybody for for downloading. And uh I'm Scott Patterson and this is my buddy Henry, and we are breaking we are we are breaking down films for you flashdance and we'll see you next time. All the best,