54 (1998)

The famous 1970s New York City nightclub seen and told through the eyes of a young employee.

Director:

Mark Christopher

Writer:

Mark Christopher

Stars:

Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell

9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Phillippe	...	Shane O'Shea
Salma Hayek	...	Anita Randazzo
Neve Campbell	...	Julie Black
Mike Myers	...	Steve Rubell
Sela Ward	...	Billie Auster
Breckin Meyer	...	Greg Randazzo
Sherry Stringfield	...	Viv
Ellen Albertini Dow	...	Disco Dottie
Cameron Mathison	...	Atlanta
Noam Jenkins	...	Romeo
Jay Goede	...	Buck
Patrick Taylor	...	Tarzan
Heather Matarazzo	...	Grace O'Shea
Skipp Sudduth	...	Harlan O'Shea
Aemilia Robinson	...	Kelly O'Shea

Storyline

An anthology film retelling the story of the famous Studio 54, a hot disco hangout for the social elite of New York. The movie follows several characters at once, some of whom are in desperate straits and on the verge of crashing.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | new york city | quaalude | angel dust the drug | reference to the village people | 

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Taglines:

You've never been anywhere until you've been here.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Studio 54

Filming Locations:

Casa Loma, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,611,532, 30 August 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,574,731, 27 September 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dollface, FilmColony, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 100 min (extended cut) 106 min (director's cut) 121 min (workprint)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Sheryl Crow.

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Goofs

Some of the lighting equipment we see is from HighEnd Technologies (Studio Color, Studio Spot and Cyberlight) which was not available until the early-'90s.

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Quotes

Shane O'Shea: [voiceover] A guy named Steve Rubell had a dream: To throw the best damned party the world had ever seen and to make it last forever. He built a world where fantasy was put up as reality and where an 80-year-old disco queen could dance till dawn. Where models mingled with mechanics, plumbers danced with princes. It was a place where all labels were left behind. A place where there were no rules.

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Crazy Credits

There is an additional take of Neve Campbell after the credits.

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Alternate Versions

A 40 second scene at 1:46 on the DVD showing Ryan having sex in a car was not seen on the PPV telecast nor in theaters but was on the DVD. A promotional clip showing Shane and Julie discussing her status as his girlfriend was edited out of the film after the line where she says "You're Sweet". Another promotional clip had Bell & James "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" playing when Shane was trying to get into 54. In the film no song was playing at the time.

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Connections

Referenced in Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver (2011)

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Soundtracks

Que Sera Mi Vida
Performed by The Gibson Brothers
Written by Daniel Vangarde, Jean Kluger and Alex Francfort
Courtesy of Zagora Records

User Reviews

This is a good movie! What was the problem?

Why the poor box office performance? Why the bad reviews? Why the bad word of mouth? I really didn't see anything horrible about this movie! First of all, it's a character-driven story. There's little subplots involving jealousy and philandering, but it's not handled in a soapy fashion. I didn't feel any of the characters were one-dimensional.

Of course, Mike Myers steals the show as the homosexual club owner Steve Rubell. I don't know the real Steve Rubell, so you be the judge whether or not his performance was accurate, but I have to say that Myers did an incredible job! And I'm not overstating the least bit! You watch him in this movie and you totally forget that this is the same guy who played Austin Powers. Not to say I didn't realize Myers had talent prior to watching this film. He has definitely proven that he has talent as a comic actor, but I didn't know he had the chops to pull off a straight, dramatic role. Even his accent sounds real, not the least bit phony. I'm surprised Myers didn't even get an Oscar nod. He should've at least gotten the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Trust me--you will be blown away by his performance in this movie!

The music is great. It's always great to reminisce to the great songs from the seventies. Mark Christopher nicely captured the whole rebellious atmosphere of 54. We're given a taste of the drug addiction and even the sexual promiscuity that made the place famous--there's a scene where a couple shamelessly pounds away on the balcony. I read one person's review, saying that this movie should've been an hour longer. I find it ironic that people watch movies that are two and a half to three hours long and complain, "Oh, this movie dragged! Oh, this movie needed more editing!" Yet they watch a succintly timed film like this and complain it's too short. This may not have been the most thorough examination of the famous nightclub, but I think it got to the point. No reason why we have to go into every tiny detail.

This is a serious, dramatic film but it's also very entertaining. I actually had a smile on my face when the movie ended. It ended on a happy note without having that forced, schmaltzy Hollywood feel. Plus, I really like that song "Knock on Wood" that they played over the credits.

My score: 7 (out of 10)