The plot is not so much the point as is the place and the time, and the timeless story of a young man choosing a path in life. I was reminded of American Graffiti and, of a completely different era, Boyz in the Hood. I wasn’t expecting much, and I ended up pleasantly surprised. Travolta was both despicable and irresistable.

It was the disco era and this was the disco movie. The BeeGee-powered soundtrack remained unbeaten as the number one album ever recorded until Michael Jackson’s Thriller eclipsed it years later. And who would have known John Travolta could dance like that? He got me and millions of teens and twenty-somethings out on the dance floors under the mirror balls, worldwide. Life changing? In its own small way, yes it was.

Critics may point to what nowadays can be seen as a weak plot, so-so dialog, and a totally unresolved ending, but who cares? As an expression of the disco era’s youthful angst, it was our Rebel Without A Cause and Travolta was our James Dean. Seeing it again after three decades was a trip down memory lane. Worth watching, for sure!

and I only just saw it.

People in the seventies must have been so, so high if they thought this movie was as great as I’d always heard it was. Aside from the charm of a young John Travolta, I couldn’t find anything to like about this. Stephanie is just annoying, the friends are not only idiots but are played by terrible actors, and there were all these stupid subplots going on that brought nothing to the overall story.

Thumbs down.