Saturday Night Fever, 1977

Although the soundtrack and the hair (and wardrobe) are extremely dated, the film overall holds up better than you might expect. Travolta's Tony Manero finds himself outgrowing Bay Ridge and his friends, and envies the upscale lifestyle of Karen Lynn Gorney's Stephanie Mangano (*we* can see that Stephanie isn't as sophisticated as she or Tony thinks she is -- her strong Brooklyn accent keeps coming through). It's also a interesting portrayal (or invention) of what family life may have been like for Italian Brooklynites at the time. Tony's generation might have been the last to use Italian profanity, and probably was the last in which you might expect to find an immigrant grandmother living with you. The film still works as a narrative of Tony's growing up and moving upward. Probably Travolta's best performance (including Pulp Fiction). Nicely directed -- visually, the film makes you see the seedy charm of a run down disco. Just don't hit the hair.

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