The Last Days of Disco (1998)

Story of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Stars:

Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chloë Sevigny	...	Alice
Kate Beckinsale	...	Charlotte
Chris Eigeman	...	Des
Mackenzie Astin	...	Jimmy
Matt Keeslar	...	Josh
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Tom
Jennifer Beals	...	Nina
Matt Ross	...	Dan (as Matthew Ross)
Tara Subkoff	...	Holly
Burr Steers	...	Van
David Thornton	...	Bernie
Jaid Barrymore	...	Tiger Lady
Sonsee Neu	...	Diana (as Sonsee Ahray)
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Victor
Scott Beehner	...	Adam

Storyline

Last Days of Disco loosely depicts the "last days" at a disco palace, where drugs, sex and weirdness ran rampant. The story centers around a group of friends who frequent the disco and each other. All the characters are searching for something to make their lives more fulfilling. Some are searching for everlasting love and some are just wanting something different. As the disco is closed, they all wonder can disco ever really be dead?

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | reference to carl barks | disco | friend | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

History is made at night.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some elements involving sexuality and drugs

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kate Beckinsale and Chloë Sevigny joined the screen a 2nd time in 2016 Love and Friendship

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Goofs

A table cloth rotates through 90 degrees between shots at Rex's Bar.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alice Kinnon: I hear you have a much better chance of getting in if you come by cab.
Charlotte Pingress: You're really worried about getting in?
Alice Kinnon: Yes.
Charlotte Pingress: I thought you've been here several times before.
Alice Kinnon: Not the front way. They were private parties. We came in through the back.
Charlotte Pingress: We look real good tonight. I'm sure we're gonna get in.
[Alice and Charlotte round the corner and see a large crowd waiting outside the Disco Club]
Alice Kinnon: [beat] Let's get a cab.
Charlotte Pingress: Yeah.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Rockin' Chair
Written by Clarence Reid, Willie Clarke (as Willie Clark)
Performed by Gwen McCrae
Courtesy of Rhino Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Clever dialogue but lack of plot may frustrate some people

In the early 80's a group of friends interact around a Manhattan disco, desperate to climb the local social ladder. With an investigation in the disco's financial dealings and the end of disco approaching the friends attempt to carry on as normal.

Director Whit Stillman tends to go for comedies that look inward and have strong comedic dialogue that follow social observations and comment on different cultures and periods. However plot is never one of his major concerns and here is no different. The story here is less important that the period of disco which is the real focus. This may be a bit frustrating to some as the story doesn't seeming to have any one direction. However the characters and the dialogue will generally hold the interest sufficiently. Some of the script is a bit weak and the characters occasionally are a bit too unsympathetic but for the majority the sharp script compliments the characters.

The performances are good throughout - these socialites are not people I'd ever like to meet but they are funny from a distance. There is much to like here if you like this type of humour. But the story is almost non-existent and this is a slight problem.

Overall a clever, funny look at the life of a couple of party girls around the time disco started to suck. Not to everyone's taste and what's that credit sequence ending about? - is it a bit of fun or is it trying to say something?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Days of Disco

Filming Locations:

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$277,601, 31 May 1998

Gross USA:

$3,020,601

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,020,601

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Westerly Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1