Thank God It's Friday (1978)

A Friday in the life of the disco club the Zoo, where the staff and clients meet and dance their their lives away.

Director:

Robert Klane

Writer:

Armyan Bernstein (as Barry Armyan Bernstein)

Stars:

Donna Summer, Valerie Landsburg, Terri Nunn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Valerie Landsburg	...	Frannie
Terri Nunn	...	Jeannie
Chick Vennera	...	Marv Gomez
Donna Summer	...	Nicole Sims
Ray Vitte	...	Bobby Speed
Mark Lonow	...	Dave
Andrea Howard	...	Sue
Jeff Goldblum	...	Tony
Robin Menken	...	Maddy
Debra Winger	...	Jennifer
John Friedrich	...	Ken
Paul Jabara	...	Carl
Mews Small	...	Jackie (as Marya Small)
Chuck Sacci	...	Gus
Hilary Beane	...	Shirley

Storyline

It's Friday and everyone is going to the hot new disco. The Commodores are scheduled to play if Floyd shows up with the instruments and Nicole dreams of becoming a disco star. Other characters are there to win the dance contest, or to put a little excitement into a fifth anniversary.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | dance contest | hot dog stand | racial slur | reference to kiss the band | 

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Taglines:

Let's blow this joint into another space zone

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 July 1978 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

T.G.I.F.

Filming Locations:

La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Casablanca Filmworks, Major Studio Partners, Motown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut theatrical feature film directing for screenwriter Robert Klane. Klane's only ever other feature film directing credit is for Weekend at Bernie's II (1993).

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Goofs

When Tony and Sue enter Bobby's booth, the money he taped to the glass earlier is missing. In the next shot it reappears in a different position.

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Quotes

Gus: God damn broad's gone too far!

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Crazy Credits

The 7th September 1977 edition of show-business trade paper 'Variety' reported that actors 'Neil Thompson' and Patrick Burn would be appearing in this movie but in the end there is no billing for the two in the picture's credits

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Connections

Featured in You Can't Do That on Television: Shoestring (1979)

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Soundtracks

Disco Queen
Performed by Paul Jabara
Written by Paul Jabara (uncredited)
Produced by Paul Jabara (uncredited), Bob Esty (uncredited)
Casablanca Records

User Reviews

Today's fad is tomorrow's joke

This is an easy movie to laugh at. It is very into it's time and it's music, fashion, the whole nine yards. This movie came out in 1978 when disco was at it's most popular. DJs who a few years later would get on the "Disco Sucks" bandwagon were still wearing their polyester suits and wearing gold chains, playing the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" over and over again. It's easy to forget how big disco was and how serious it was for a brief span of time. This movie attempts to portray in a humourous way, a night at a very "cool" disco, presided over by a very "cool" owner and DJ, who played " cool" music all night long. It shows how a night at the disco affects several different kinds of people, from a couple whose marriage is on the skids to two underage girls trying to sneak in to enter a dance contest. The music is pounding, the drug use blatant, the clothes were wild, yes this was 1978. This was all a clever package, of course, to market the movie's fantastic soundtrack. Like the SNF soundtrack, this movie sold their double LP soundtrack like hotcakes. Live performances by Donna Summer and The Commodores add to this movies appeal. Recommended as a double feature with "Detroit Rock City" to show that there was two very divergent musical tastes amoung white kids in 1978.