Can't Stop the Music (1980)

A pseudo autobiography of disco's The Village People.

Director:

Nancy Walker

Writers:

Bronte Woodard (as Bronté Woodard), Allan Carr

Stars:

Ray Simpson, David Hodo, Felipe Rose

4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Simpson	...	Village People: Policeman
David Hodo	...	Village People: Construction Worker
Felipe Rose	...	Village People: Indian
Randy Jones	...	Village People: Cowboy
Glenn Hughes	...	Village People: Leatherman
Alex Briley	...	Village People: G.I.
Valerie Perrine	...	Samantha
Caitlyn Jenner	...	Ron White (as Bruce Jenner)
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack Morell
Paul Sand	...	Steve Waits
Tammy Grimes	...	Sydne Channing
June Havoc	...	Helen Morell
Barbara Rush	...	Norma White
Altovise Davis	...	Alicia Edwards
Marilyn Sokol	...	Lulu Brecht

Storyline

In this pseudo audio biography of the Village People, Jack Morell (a thinly disguised caricature of the group's founder, Jacques Morali) is a struggling composer desperate to gain fame with his songs, but all he needs is a group to sing them. With the help of his roommate Samantha and a lawyer named Ron, Jack forms a group of six "macho men" from his Greenwich Village neighborhood, and the rest of the film details their rise to fame from New York City to a climatic concert in San Francisco.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | swimming pool | tax lawyer | dancer | singer | 

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Taglines:

The Musical Comedy Smash of the 80's!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Discoland: Where the Music Never Stops

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Milkshake" song-and-dance sequence required two weeks of rehearsal, five days of filming, and 57 camera positions.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the "You Can't Stop the Music" song finale, the Village People are shown from the front. The cop is on the far left, next to the cowboy. In the very next shot, as they're being shown from the back, the cop is between the Indian and the Biker.

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Quotes

Ron White: Mother! What are you doing here?
Jack Morell: Mother?
Samantha: Mother?
Felipe: THAT's your mother?
Samantha: Gee, she looks better than I do.

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Alternate Versions

ABC edited 21 minutes from this film (including the "I Love You To Death" number) to fit the time slot for its 1984 network television premiere.

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Connections

Spoofed in Hollywood Burn (2006)

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Soundtracks

Danny Boy
(uncredited)
Traditional tune with lyrics by Frederick Edward Weatherly
Irish Folksong
Sung by Glenn Hughes

User Reviews

The Best Bad Movie Ever!

This movie is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is awful in every sense.

Bad writing, acting, and man, you wanna talk about god awful editing! But when I first saw it on late night TV I could not believe my eyes. Its so bad its good. The whole thing is so happy, so carefree, and so 70's. Even though Steve Guttenberg's character tries to say the Village People are "THE sound of 80's". Yeah, right. This is pure 70's. Back before all the nonsense we have to deal with these days with drugs and sex. The 70's and this movie were all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. And watch at the beginning in the record store scene where all the customers are standing in line to buy Electric Light Orchestra's disco classic album "Discovery". Long live the Village People!