Flashdance (1983)

Jennifer Beals stars as Alex Owens, an 18-year-old welder in a Pittsburgh steel mill who moonlights as an exotic dancer in the dive bar her co-workers frequent.

She is having an affair with her boss, Nick (Michael Nouri), who helps her strive to achieve her dream to be a ballerina.

The girls who dance with Alex at the club all have some kind of new wave performance art aspect to what they do and the set pieces are hilariously elaborate (one girl goes for a zany kabuki effect!)

Director Adrian Lyne (9½ Weeks; Fatal Attraction) cut his teeth directing TV commercials – and it shows in his reliance on slick cutting and sumptuous visuals here.

But while it was one of the most successful movies of 1983, Flashdance is really nothing but glossy fluff.

The film is like sitting through a long rock video or aerobics tape, with Beals (and a lot of stand-ins by dancing body-double Marine Jahan) doing frenzied water (or sweat) drenched dances to a pounding beat in skimpy outfits.

And why is it that people in movies always live in houses they couldn’t possibly afford on their incomes? Alex has a loft apartment and she’s a WELDER for chrissakes . . .

Several hits came off the soundtrack album, including Flashdance – What a Feeling (sung by Fame‘s Irene Cara), which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song Maniac, the cinematography, and the film editing also received nominations.

Alex Owens
Jennifer Beals
Nick Hurley
Michael Nouri
Hanna Long
Lilia Skala
Jeanie Szabo
Sunny Johnson
Richie
Kyle T. Heffner
Johnny C
Lee Ving
Jake Mawby
Ron Karabatsos
Katie Hurley
Belinda Bauer
Cecil
Malcolm Danare
Frank Szabo
Philip Bruns
Rosemary Szabo
Micole Mercurio
Secretary
Lucy Lee Flippin
Pete
Don Brockett
Tina Tech
Cynthia Rhodes
Heels
Durga McBroom

Director
Adrian Lyne

Video