Flashdance (1983)

Entertaining drama with an amazing soundtrack and great performance from Jennifer Beals. Not the strongest story at times but still was enthralled through its reasonable 90-minute running time. 3.75/5

Aside from the toe-tapper that was Irene Cara's title song, the rest of this film is really only notable because it shows the sheer determination of a young woman - "Alex" (Jennifer Beals) to make it. Initially, in a man's world as a welder more than holding her own, whilst at the same time she wants to swap her night-time dancing pole for a ballet school bar and prove that she has what it takes to become a top dancer too. Fortunately, her wealthy boss is also her boyfriend, and "Nick" (Michael Nouri) is keen to help her along - sometimes a little too keen, which can lead to the odd bit of tension as she finds herself with an audition that could change everything. It is a very positive-looking film with an upbeat theme and that helps carry what is otherwise a really rather poorly acted affair with some clunky dialogue and a narrative that follows a fairly predictable pattern - before the ending that we just know is coming. Laura Branigan and Giorgio Moroder had a hand in the rest of the soundtrack, which when you watch this film again after all but forty years proves remarkably memorable (if not great). Like it or not, this was a groundbreaking piece of cinema that though it struggles to exude much punch now, certainly did quite a lot - cinematically speaking - back then. Benefits from big screen audio, and is still worth a watch if you are of a certain age.