"Roller Boogie" and "Xanadu" are the "42nd Street" and "An American in Paris" of roller skating disco musicals compared to this, the "Kissing Bandit" of the genre, one that makes "The Apple" look good. The issue here isn't the story. There barely is one. The issue is not the music. It's every disco song that was rereleased on a Ronco or K-Tel album available for TV commercial mail order. It's not the cast. Everybody here is well known in one form or another. that brings the reason for this being such a fiasco down to one simple reason. The execution.
The slight story, what it there is, comes down to a Jets and Sharks like rivalry over who will win the contest at the Skatetown USA. It's clean-cut Scott Baio and Greg Bradford gang vs. the sloppy Patrick Swayze and Ron Papillon gang. We're supposed to believe that Flip Wilson and Billy Barty are the brothers who are co-owners of the rink, maybe comical on paper but executed horribly. Swayze have later in "Dirty Dancing", and Palillo in a beard looks like a troll doll and lacks the sweetness of his TV role of Horshack.
Poor Maureen McCormick really seems to have no purpose in being there, and Flip Wilson as a Geraldine like character flops rather than flips. The snack bar cook is supposed to emulate Oliver Hardy but is not even worthy of a chuckle. Then there's Ruth Buzzi and Sandra Gould, the Miss Gulch and Chastity Pariah like characters who show up with the intention of closing the "den of iniquity" down. Appearances of several "Gong Show" regular comics offer a string of ridiculously idiotic jokes, making me feel like one of the audience members in "The Producers" with mouth agape at "Springtime For Hitler".
What bothered me about the musical numbers here is that seem to think that just by stuffing the roller rink with a bunch of skaters, it's going to make it look like they are well choreographed. Some of the musical numbers actually appear to be filmed in slow motion with your typical MTV choreography that makes them just odd. In the 40+ years since it's theatrical showing, has not had a commercial video, and I can see why.
The slight story, what it there is, comes down to a Jets and Sharks like rivalry over who will win the contest at the Skatetown USA. It's clean-cut Scott Baio and Greg Bradford gang vs. the sloppy Patrick Swayze and Ron Papillon gang. We're supposed to believe that Flip Wilson and Billy Barty are the brothers who are co-owners of the rink, maybe comical on paper but executed horribly. Swayze have later in "Dirty Dancing", and Palillo in a beard looks like a troll doll and lacks the sweetness of his TV role of Horshack.
Poor Maureen McCormick really seems to have no purpose in being there, and Flip Wilson as a Geraldine like character flops rather than flips. The snack bar cook is supposed to emulate Oliver Hardy but is not even worthy of a chuckle. Then there's Ruth Buzzi and Sandra Gould, the Miss Gulch and Chastity Pariah like characters who show up with the intention of closing the "den of iniquity" down. Appearances of several "Gong Show" regular comics offer a string of ridiculously idiotic jokes, making me feel like one of the audience members in "The Producers" with mouth agape at "Springtime For Hitler".
What bothered me about the musical numbers here is that seem to think that just by stuffing the roller rink with a bunch of skaters, it's going to make it look like they are well choreographed. Some of the musical numbers actually appear to be filmed in slow motion with your typical MTV choreography that makes them just odd. In the 40+ years since it's theatrical showing, has not had a commercial video, and I can see why.