Here's another film.. like THE AVENGERS, that's first test screening didn't go so well. But then Whit Stillman is an acquired taste, which I have acquired. Warning though, his films usually enter that S-T-R-A-N-G-E dimension. Here's a review from someone who, like me, is predisposed to like Whit's work...
I just came from an early screening of the new Whit Stillman movie THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO, and I'm pleased to report it was terrific, in many ways an improvement on his previous two cult hits METROPOLITAN and BARCELONA (both of which are cleverly alluded to in DISCO). From the strobing opening credits, you can tell the writer-director is on the right track and the two hours that follow do not disappoint.
If you're looking for a movie that actually dares to feature some dialogue worth listening to (unlike, say, DEEP IMPACT, BLACK DOG or most of the other gems I've had to sit through in the past month), here it is. I must get my hands on a copy of this script ASAP, because even though I was trying to write down most of the good lines, they came so fast and furious after a certain point I'm sure I only had time to scribble one out of three or so. Plus, the laughter from the audience drowned out some of the quips -- but that's fine!
DISCO is set in "The Very Early 1980s," according to the opening title, in New York. The discotheque scene has been embraced by people over 40 by this point, which, of course, means it's on its way out. Charlotte (adorably bitchy Kate Beckinsall, an English rose using a perfect American accent) and Alice (Chloe Sevigny, looking like a very young and sultry Meryl Streep) work as lowly editorial assistants in a publishing house during the day and don't make enough money to live in the manner they'd like. But when night falls, they dress up and head for The Club (obviously modelled on Studio 54), an exclusive disco in the neighborhood. Most of the movie details the women's involvements with would-be Yuppies, such as Robert Sean Leonard's environment activist who theorizes that the environmental movement "was sparked by the re-release of "Bambi" in the late 1950s ... nobody wanted to identify with those hunters," and Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin), an ad agency flunky who dreams of the day he can afford to have his shirts sent out. Jimmy has been banned at The Club, but gets in anyway, with some help from assistant manager Dez (the martini-dry Christopher Eigemann). Dez is convinced he may be gay because of some fantasies he had while watching a "Wild Kingdom" repeat. Charlotte, who prides herself on being able to tell if a guy is gay or not simply by looking at his eyes, tells Dez there's nothing wrong with his eyes, "but you do have a gay mouth."
Dez's college friend Josh (Matt Keeslar) also figures in: He's an assistant district attorney with manic-depresive tendencies. At one point Josh launches into a bizarre, enlightening analysis of Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" and the subliminal messages it sends to kids, noting "films like this program women to love jerks." It wins over Alice, much to Dez's dismay and Charlotte's as well. "From the start, you know he's defective," Charlotte warns Alice. "Usually, you don't find that out until much later." Charlotte also offers Alice such good advice as "whenever you can, try to throw the word 'sexy' into the conversation: Like 'This fabric is so sexy'."
The performances are all exceptionally good, and I'd be hugely surprised if this film doesn't give a major lift to the profiles of Beckinsall, Sevigny and Keeslar, in particular. And the soundtrack is a treasure trove of guilty pleasures, including Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out" and Sister Sledge's "He's The Greatest Dancer." Best of all, the movie contains some genuine truths about the early '80s that people tend to forget: Yes, the nightlife was glamorous and exciting, but the employment situation for college graduates at that time was dismal, and even though AIDS was unheard of, herpes was widespread. Much less preachy than BOOGIE NIGHTS and much funnier to boot, THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO is well worth checking out.
"They Call Me Peaches"
