Staying Alive (1983 film)

Staying Alive is a 1983 American dance drama film and the sequel to Saturday Night Fever (1977). The film was directed by Sylvester Stallone, who co-produced and co-wrote the film with original Fever producer Robert Stigwood, and writer Norman Wexler. Staying Alive stars John Travolta, reprising his Saturday Night Fever role as Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Julie Bovasso, Viktor Manoel and Kevyn Morrow.

The title comes from the Bee Gees song of the same name, which was used as the theme song to Saturday Night Fever and is played during the final scene of Staying Alive.

Staying Alive was theatrically released on July 15, 1983, to universally negative critical reviews, and is the oldest film to hold a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, Staying Alive was successful at the box office, earning $127 million worldwide on a $22 million budget. The film also featured the song "Far from Over" by Frank Stallone, the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone. "Far from Over" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox charts. Along with Homefront (2013), this is one of only two films that Stallone wrote without starring (although he has an uncredited cameo appearance).

Plot
Tony Manero, a former disco king, is living in a Manhattan flophouse, working as a dance instructor and waiter at a dance club, searching for a big break in the modern dance productions on Broadway. The break from his Brooklyn life seems to have somewhat matured Tony and refined his personality, including his diminished Brooklyn accent, an avoidance of alcohol, and less use of profanity. Other attitudes remain unchanged, such as his disregard for his girlfriend, the forgiving Jackie, who is a dancer and rock singer. Tony maintains some of his other macho double standards, such as seeing other women but being offended if he sees Jackie with other men.

Tony watches a show that features Jackie as a dancer in the chorus but focuses on the lead, English dancer Laura. He pursues her with seduction in mind and spends the night with her. He is annoyed when she dismisses him afterward, not understanding that she intended their encounter to be a one-night stand. Laura coldly justifies her treatment by saying that "Everybody uses everybody" and implies that Tony used her in order to get a dance role in her upcoming show.

Unable to trust Tony, Jackie breaks up with him. Jackie, Tony and Laura then all audition for the Broadway production, Satan's Alley. Jackie and Tony land small roles, and Laura is cast as the lead female dancer.

Tony begins to realize how callous he has been to Jackie and walks from Manhattan to his old Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn in the middle of the night. When he visits his mother and apologizes for the troublemaking ways of his youth, she points out that his selfish behavior as a teen helped him escape a dead-end life in Bay Ridge. Tony feels better and heads back to Manhattan to repair his relationship with Jackie. His hostility and distance from the arrogant Laura increase as the production progresses.

Tony decides to take a shot at replacing the male lead of Satan's Alley and requests Jackie to help him practice the number. Laura is disgusted when Tony succeeds and openly displays her resentment at having to partner him in the show. They cannot hide their chemistry on stage, though, which pleases the show's director Jesse.

Satan's Alley sells out, and the cast takes the stage to a standing-room-only crowd. The first act is a success despite Tony's disregard for the script when he kisses Laura at the end of their number. Jesse blasts Tony backstage, telling him to take his personal war away from the production. Laura seems to offer a truce when she asks to see him after the show to "clear things up". Aware of her manipulative ways, Tony coldly tells her that he has other commitments, and Laura snidely responds that he lacks star quality.

The second act is a dazzling display of dance and special effects, and Tony abandons the script near the end of the show. He hurls Laura away and gives way to his frustration in a solo dance. He then holds out his hand to Laura with a command to jump, and she leaps in his arms for a climactic finish to the show.

Tony celebrates with his jubilant castmates and reconciles with Jackie. He then leaves the theater and struts through Times Square, beaming with his newfound success.

Cast
Richie Sambora appeared in an uncredited role as a guitarist of the local band, in which Jackie and Carl also perform. Sylvester Stallone makes an uncredited cameo appearance as a man on the street, whom Tony bumps into.

Some of the cast from Saturday Night Fever were to reprise their roles but ended up removed from the final cut: Donna Pescow appeared in the audience at Tony's Broadway debut, and Val Bisoglio appeared briefly as Frank Sr. His scene was deleted, and the film instead vaguely implies that he has probably died.

Development and writing
Saturday Night Fever producer and writer Robert Stigwood and Norman Wexler started planning a sequel soon after the original film came out in 1977, due to the film's success. They came up with the title Staying Alive, and Wexler wrote a script. Travolta was open to the idea of a sequel, but did not like the pessimism of the script, thinking that his character, Tony Manero, needed to see more success as a dancer. Stigwood and executives from Paramount Pictures spent the next several years trying to convince Travolta to film the script as written, but with no success. The project was considered abandoned, but then, in 1981, Stigwood met with Travolta to get Travolta's views on how a sequel should go. Travolta stated that he wanted Manero to attempt a dance career on Broadway and end up in a leading role due to his talent. Wexler wrote another script based on Travolta's ideas, in which Manero becomes a Broadway dancer but remains in the chorus. Travolta agreed to participate in the film, though he preferred an ending more like the one he had envisioned: he agreed that Wexler's ending was a more realistic outcome, but felt that it would not be sufficiently exciting for audiences.

It was then time to find a director for Staying Alive, and Travolta, who had just seen the film Rocky III (which Stallone wrote, directed and starred in), told his agent that he wanted a director who could bring the energy and pacing of that film to Staying Alive. To Travolta's surprise, Paramount, with the help of then-studio chief Michael Eisner, was able to bring in Stallone himself. Travolta told Stallone about his idea for a happier ending, and Stallone rewrote the script to more closely match Travolta's vision. Stallone also made the Manero character more mature – given that the character was now six years older than in the original film – and made the film's language tamer than that of the first film, to ensure that it got a PG rating.

Under Stallone's supervision, Travolta spent five months doing rigorous training to develop a dancer's physique for the film, losing 20 pounds in the process.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released in 1983 and is performed mostly by the Bee Gees. Five new Bee Gees songs were on Side A, with Side B featuring songs by other artists which were mostly written by Frank Stallone, brother of the film's director, Sylvester Stallone. The album reached No. 14 in the United Kingdom, No. 6 in the United States, No. 1 in Switzerland, and No. 2 in Italy and Japan. The Bee Gees songs were released under RSO.

All tracks on Side A are written and performed by the Bee Gees. "Stayin' Alive" was shortened for the album. The full song is used in the film.

Two songs featured in the film, "Waking Up" by Frank Stallone and Cynthia Rhodes and "The Winning End" by Joe Esposito, do not appear on the album. “Waking Up," with Rhodes' vocals removed, was released as the B-side of the single "Far from Over." An excerpt of a third duet with Frank Stallone and Cynthia Rhodes, "Hope We Never Change," is featured in the film.

Box office
Staying Alive was a commercial success. The film opened with the biggest weekend for a musical film ever (at the time) with a gross of $12,146,143 from 1,660 screens. Overall, the film grossed nearly $65 million domestically against its $22 million budget. Worldwide it grossed $127 million. Though the domestic box office intake was less than the $94.2 million earned by Saturday Night Fever, the film nevertheless ranked in the top ten most financially successful films of 1983.

Critical response
Staying Alive received universally negative reviews from film critics.

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times, who had praised Saturday Night Fever, called the dance productions in Stayin' Alive "laughably gauche", especially the final number, which he mocked for including "fire, ice, smoke, flashing lights and laser beams". Ebert added that what the film most lacked was "the sense of reality in Saturday Night Fever... There's no old neighborhood, no vulgar showdowns with his family (he apologizes to his mother for his "attitude"!) and no Brooklyn eccentricity." In 2006, Entertainment Weekly dubbed Staying Alive the "Worst Sequel Ever." Many critics were unanimous in agreeing that the film did not contain the grittiness and realism that was possessed by Saturday Night Fever.

Accolades
The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book, The Official Razzie Movie Guide, as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.