Staying Alive (1983)

This Saturday Night Fever sequel, directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, was described as “Travolting” by more than one critic.

The action is set six years after the previous film, and Tony Manero now works as a waiter in a nightclub where he has his own small fan club of loving ladies, but he cannot translate this into popularity on the stage.

Tony also has a job as a jazz dance instructor at Fatima’s Danceland but attends rehearsals for Broadway shows in the hope that he will be picked for one of them, in the chorus line if nowhere else.

Not today, though, as he is let down once again, but his fellow dancer girlfriend Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes) has faith in him, for who knows what might be around the corner?

There’s a love triangle between Tony, Jackie and the new girl in his life, Laura (Finola Hughes), who happens to be the lead dancer in the show he finally gets a role in.

Wealthy and pampered, Laura is British, bitchy and cruel, leading on poor, deluded Tony, only to run hot and cold with him at every opportunity.

Though it was one of the top ten moneymakers of its year, posterity was not kind, and Staying Alive went down in movie history as one of the worst sequels ever.  Sporting a Flashdance headband, John Travolta didn’t look this ridiculous again until Battlefield Earth (2000).

Tony Manero
John Travolta
Jackie
Cynthia Rhodes
Laura
Finola Hughes
Jesse
Steve Inwood
Mrs. Manero
Julie Bovasso
Butler
Charles Ward
Fatima
Norma Donaldson
Mark
Jesse Doran
Linda
Joyce Hyser
Margaret
Deborah Jenssen
Fred
Robert Martini
Joy
Sarah Miles
Cathy
Cindy Perlman
Carl
Frank Stallone

Director
Sylvester Stallone