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:

Sex. Drugs. Disco. Everything was in excess.

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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

In 2008, about a decade after its original theatrical debut, Writer and Director Mark Christopher assembled a bootleg Director's Cut of the film, with forty-five minutes of never before seen footage, and unofficially screened it at New York's Outfest around July-August 2008. This version reinstated the blatant promiscuity and bisexuality of Ryan Phillippe's character, as well as the film's core love triangle between Phillippe, Salma Hayek, and Breckin Meyer which the Miramax studio forced him to cut from the original release.

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Goofs

Many of the newspaper articles that are shown quickly are not the actual articles that match the headlines. The New Yorker article about Rubbell's arrest begins accurately, but the main body is an advice column. Two articles have identical copy. Some articles have blatant writing errors, such as misspelled words, missing hyphens, uncapped letters, etc. One article calls the Drug Enforcement Administration the "Drug Enforcement Administrative."

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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

As the credits roll, photographs are shown, first of visiting celebrities (e.g., Brooke Shields, George Burns, Arnold Schwarzenegger), then candid shots of unidentified customers.

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Alternate Versions

In 2008, director Mark Christopher assembled a bootleg director's cut of the film with 45 minutes of never before seen footage and unofficially screened it at Outfest. This version reinstated the blatant promiscuity and bisexuality of Ryan Phillippe's character, as well as the film's core love triangle between Phillippe, Salma Hayek and Breckin Meyer which the studio forced him to cut from the original release.

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Connections

References All My Children (1970)

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Soundtracks

Native New Yorker
Performed by Odyssey
Written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Never lives up to its potential...

What could have been an intoxicating, unforgettable film is instead reduced so pretty people like Ryan Phillippe and Neve Campbell whining and posing. The REAL story of the REAL "54" is Steve Rubell and the shenanigans and illegal activities that took place in AND out of the club....as well as the entire disco era. Actually, aside from some great music from the period, the viewer doesn't get much of a feel for the late 70's. And frankly, it's a bit hard to because of the VERY 90's faces in the film. It would be okay if some of them could actually act...

The only thing this film has going for it, besides the music, is a stellar, surprising performance from Mike Myers as Steve Rubell. The filmmakers blew their chance with this movie...the REAL story of Studio 54 with Mike Myers in the lead role would have made a phenomenal movie. Instead, we get a soap opera with bad acting and Myers reduced to a thankless supporting role. Overall, "54" isn't terrible and it does have it's moments. It is just very disappointing, because the REAL story would have been so much more fulfilling.