Staying Alive

Highly recommended--for Saturday Night Fever completists and connoisseurs of bad movies. This notable dud updates the story of Tony Manero (John Travolta), the disco prince from Fever, as he heads across the river to Manhattan and tries to make it as a dancer on Broadway. Someone had the bright idea of handing Staying Alive to Sylvester Stallone, who directed and cowrote the screenplay (and pops up in a shameless two-second cameo). Stallone gives the picture the pumped-up Rocky treatment, and completely misses the dance-floor excitement of Saturday Night Fever. Travolta tries to recapture his signature role, but this is one of the movies that put his career into its pre-Pulp Fiction deep freeze. The action culminates in a laughable Broadway opening night that really should be seen to be disbelieved. --Robert Horton