Today the Cinecultist has a lovely comp day from El Day Job to make up for last week's super long hours and what are we doing with our time off? Not outside enjoying the gorgeous spring weather (not yet, anyway), we're watching Flashdance on HBO. Dear god, we'd forgotten what a Hollywood formulaic pleasure this picture is. You can time the plot to a stop watch, thanks to Joe Eszterhas's script and really who can't appreciate Jennifer Beal's toned ass and director Adrian Lyne's '80s visual modernism? It's really quite a combo.
In the first fifteen minutes alone we learn the following key plot points: Our hero Alex is a welder, which is a man's world (hence the football betting dialogue between the boss and his friend). She's got a hot body and fits into the slightly sketchy dancing at a bar scene. We see the infamous pound of water dropping onto her from the ceiling. The boss man gives her the flirty flirt but she's aloof 'cause she's a good girl. Then, we learn she's actually a serious dancer (she tapes her feet, she sweats) as she works out in her apartment to the "Maniac" song. All that packed into 15 minutes -- brilliant, right?
Oh wait, it's now minute 25 and there's a work out montage where they're wearing headbands and Jane Fonda leotards. We gotta go. Enjoy the Friday, CC certainly is.
Posted by karen at March 31, 2006 12:26 PM