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Flash Movie Review: Love to Love You, Donna Summer
I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT WAS playing on the car’s radio. We were driving through the city, when the radio disc jockey made the comment to be prepared for the new hot song, he was going to play next. I was sitting in the backseat, but the car had a decent speaker, so all of us would be able to hear. When the song came on the air, I was not sure if I was hearing things correctly or someone was playing a joke. A woman was moaning. There was a strong beat behind her words, but I was still confused. Eventually the woman sang some lyrics, but the song repeated the moans over and over, extending the song out to an unheard-of amount of time. We were stunned and could not believe what we had just heard. The disc jockey came back on and gave a quick update on the artist’s name, record stats and how she was discovered. I still remember when we were driving back home after spending the day downtown, we heard the song again. Though this time, the evening disc jockey was talking about how fast the song was moving up the song charts, making big jumps towards number one. FOUR YEARS LATER, I HEARD A song that started out with the words, “toot toot, beep beep.” So odd, but it had a beat that was infectious. It turned out it was the same singer from that song I had heard on the radio with all that moaning. I do know, whenever this song came on you could see everyone doing something to the beat; whether it was toe tapping or dancing or air guitaring, it got people moving. By this point my curiosity was piqued enough to figure out who was this singer because I must tell you, I was hooked. The period of time in the music world was referred to as Disco, which referred to pop music created for dancing to it that had melodies and soulfulness, mixed in with a steady beat. You could never get away from it; it was being played at weddings, parties, clubs, television shows and movies. This singer was being referred to as the “Queen of Disco.” She was on the cover of Rolling Stone which was a first. And the best part of this is I got to see her live in concert in a concert hall that is considered to have the best acoustics in the world. With the stage dark, a background music track began to play. The lights came up to show a winter scene on stage with fake snow and crystal icicles hanging from fake trees. The singer slowly came out on a moving sidewalk, dressed in a full length feathered white coat. Her voice was crystal clear as she sang the beginning of one of her famous songs. I was so excited then as I am now, seeing her again in this musical documentary. A DAUGHTER’S CURIOUSITY ABOUT HER MOTHER’S life was the impetus for the creation of this movie about the singer, Donna Summer. Directed by Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo; Life, Animated) and Donna’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano (Taken-TV, With This Ring), I was all into this documentary since I was a big fan of Donna. With home and never seen before footage, I was fascinated seeing the behind-the-scenes tidbits of famous songs and events. Adding in the commentary from such celebrities as Elton John and Giorgio Moroder, I enjoyed reliving those times without having to dress up in Qiana shirts and platform shoes. There was though a sanitary feel to this film, which I understood since Brooklyn was behind it. I would have appreciated getting a deeper sense of Donna and the people in her life with more in-depth, unfiltered interviews. However, hearing the music again transported me back to those times and gave me such a fun feeling that I could easily forgive. If you choose to see this picture, do not be surprised if you get the urge to dance.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Mr. Saturday Night
MY FIRST APARTMENT WAS IN A neighborhood known for its nightlife. There were a multitude of bars and clubs, with most of them all on the same stretch of road. Though they each served pretty much the same alcohol and beverages, they were distinct based on the clientele. There were the clubs that attracted the young crowd, those barely legal by the state’s standards. Other bars were known to attract minorities which I always found odd. There was one place where the patrons were Hispanic for the most part. When I would go there, I would sit and try to figure out what made the place attractive for Hispanic people. It had a similar setup to other bars with colored flashing lights, a dance floor, mirrors and a live DJ. It made no sense to me; yet there was another club where the patrons were mostly Black. Again, I did not find anything distinctive about the place that would, to tell you the truth, attract any minority. Now before you think I am some big-time drinker; let me tell you, I do not drink alcoholic drinks; I never liked the taste of them. If I did not ask for a glass of water, I usually got a clear carbonated drink with no ice or straw. It is weird, but I have encountered people who would get an attitude if I did not have a drink in my hand. It was as if they thought I must be there for some nefarious reasons because I was not drinking anything. DESPITE THESE ESTABLISHMENTS DRAWING DIFFERENT CLIENTELE, there was one place where everyone was welcome, and they showed up in droves. It was the disco. I had never seen such a place; walking into it was like entering a different universe. There were the usual-colored lights and mirrors; but they had fog machines and confetti canyons, besides live statues. I still remember this one statue who was dressed all in silver including painting their skin in the same color. They stood perfectly still on top of a large pedestal for several minutes before moving stiffly like a robot, into another position. Periodically they would burst into a dance routine, then suddenly come to a dead stop and be motionless again. The dress code was anything and everything. I had a couple of pairs of shoes that I would only wear when I visited this club. Looking back, I cannot believe I used to wear these copper-colored metallic looking pants that appeared iridescent. Funny, no one even batted an eye when I was on the dance floor. There was such an energy in the place with people moving on the massive dance floor; I used to think I wanted a job there because it was an uplifting place. It has been years since I have been to a club, but I felt like I had while watching this fun, musical documentary. ONE MAN HAD THE IDEA TO sell the music first before coming out with the movie and it changed the whole world. Directed by John Maggio (The Perfect Weapon, American Experience-TV) this film was about Robert Stigwood, the producer for such films as Evita and Tommy, besides being the manager for the musical groups the Bee Gees and Cream. This movie focused on the creation of the hit film Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta (Grease, Pulp Fiction). If you were not a fan of disco music, I do not know if you will enjoy this picture as much as I did. Honestly, I can remember buying the musical soundtrack to this film and hearing the songs playing wherever I went; that is how popular it was. Seeing how the movie came into existence, with the little tidbits of information scattered throughout this film, I enjoyed watching this documentary. I will say it did start out a bit slow, but just hearing the music from that time and seeing the archival scenes; this was just a great blast from the past that I settled into for the night. And who knows, if you choose to see this movie, you might want to get up out of your seat and dance for a bit.
3 stars
moviejoltz 