We’ve been lacking in hardcore campness, thank God for the ‘Forgotten Classic’. Due to a busy uni schedule the blog has been a little sparce but now it’s back – all singing, all dancing (to ELO). This week is the turn of Xanadu, the 1980 flop starring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly.
The film follows young artist (Michael Beck) and his infatuation for a dream woman that he sees on an album cover. It’s not long before this dream woman turns up and identifies herself as Kiera (Olivia Newton-John). Beck’s character soon meets former big band leader, Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) who offers him a chance to help renovate an old nightclub fusing the old with the new, leading to some awesome musical numbers from ELO and Olivia.
Scarcely making back it’s $20 million dollar budget, the film never lived up the hype, despite being one of the last leading roles for the legendary Gene Kelly. Despite some issues with the script, it’s great fun to see him up and enjoying himself and reminding us all why we love him. The strength of the film lies in it’s musical numbers with ‘I’m Alive’, ‘Magic’, ‘All Over the World’ and ‘Xanadu’ all coming across fantastically. Olivia is enchanting, but lead Michael Beck isn’t, he’s particularly dull and one of the films major downfalls. Despite this, it’s a great fun movie and a MUST for lovers of camp cinema