54 Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Studio 54 was a haven for the rich, famous and generally good-looking before it closed its doors forever in 1986. Inside, anything went and, we are told, everything did. The film's fictional main character is Shane O'Shea (Ryan Phillippe, the jerky jock from "I Know What You Did Last Summer"), a fresh-faced 19-year-old who dreams of venturing beyond the club's velvet rope and coming face-to-face with the wild decadence he can only read about in magazines. His wish comes true when Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell (Mike Myers) spots him amongst a crowd of gawkers one night in '79 and permits him passage - but not before he doffs his hideous shirt, of course.
Once inside, Shane becomes seduced by the club's dizzying vortex of sex and drugs. He has such a good time that he doesn't want to leave, so he seeks employment as a busboy. He quickly becomes friends with Greg (Breckin Meyer) and Anita (Salma Hayek), a married couple who work along side of him; Greg's a fellow busboy with aspirations to make the big money as a Studio 54 bartender, while Anita checks coats but desires a recording contract to call her own. After rubbing elbows (among other things) with a renowned socialite (Sela Ward) and gaining the personal interest of Rubell, Shane begins to ascend to the upper echelons of 54. But fame doesn't come without a price.
"54"'s major shortcomings lie within its handling of the supporting players - at a slim hour-and-a-half, the film is too short to take on such a multi-character focus, and more than a few balls are dropped in the resulting juggling act. Alleged last-minute edits and reshoots are more than likely to blame for the occasionally rushed development and ambiguous interaction, since "54" sometimes feels like it's missing a scene here or there. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Shane's relationship with soap opera actress Julie Black (Neve Campbell), a frequent Studio 54 patron whom he's long admired from afar. The romance is prodded along before it has a chance to transform into something special.
That "54" works despite these limitations, then, is largely due to the competence and energy with which it's assembled. Sure, it's shallow, slick, sanitized portrait of a bygone age, and sure, we've seen the rags-to-riches story gazillions of times, but debut director and screenwriter Mark Christopher keeps things moving with lively snapshots of the Studio 54 hustle and bustle and an even livelier cast to inhabit his bouncy vision. The film boasts some fine comic creativity, the pinnacle of which is Disco Dottie ("The Wedding Singer"'s Ellen Dow), an elderly dancing queen who plays the loving grandmother in public, but slides up to Shane behind 54's closed doors and asks for a "funky little treat."
The solid, sexy cast smooths out - if only while you're caught up in the film - any rough spots belonging to their alter-egos or the plot. Newcomer Phillippe has the charisma and Joisey accent down pat; he and Campbell, as fetching as ever, look so good together it's a shame their subplot goes nowhere. Meyer exhibits the congenial appeal that made him a delight to watch in "Clueless" (he was the stoner with the Joker-smile), while Hayek simply sizzles, especially when leading a dance class with the mantra, "One, two, three, attitude!" Sherry Stringfield, unidentifiable under big '70s hair, takes on her first big-screen gig since she left "ER" as Rubell's accountant, but she's criminally underused.
As the droopy-eyed, drug-addled Steve Rubell, Myers is worth the price of admission alone. When he's not playing the life of the party, the ex-"Saturday Night Live" comedian strips away all of Rubell's confidence and swagger to show a man desperately trying to fill his empty, unhappy life with exorbitance; it's a moment worthy of pity when, while lounging on a bed of money and vomiting from a particularly heavy evening, he attempts to seduce one of his employees. And while his performance is largely serious, Myers mixes the empathy with a delicate "Austin Powers"-esque wink, thus keeping consistent with "54"'s overall feel - gaudy, larger-than-life and satisfyingly ornamental, not unlike a giant disco ball.
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