54 (1998) User Reviews

This is a good movie! What was the problem?

[mattymatt4ever · 7/10 · 7 January 2002]

Why the poor box office performance? Why the bad reviews? Why the bad word of mouth? I really didn't see anything horrible about this movie! First of all, it's a character-driven story. There's little subplots involving jealousy and philandering, but it's not handled in a soapy fashion. I didn't feel any of the characters were one-dimensional.

Of course, Mike Myers steals the show as the homosexual club owner Steve Rubell. I don't know the real Steve Rubell, so you be the judge whether or not his performance was accurate, but I have to say that Myers did an incredible job! And I'm not overstating the least bit! You watch him in this movie and you totally forget that this is the same guy who played Austin Powers. Not to say I didn't realize Myers had talent prior to watching this film. He has definitely proven that he has talent as a comic actor, but I didn't know he had the chops to pull off a straight, dramatic role. Even his accent sounds real, not the least bit phony. I'm surprised Myers didn't even get an Oscar nod. He should've at least gotten the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Trust me--you will be blown away by his performance in this movie!

The music is great. It's always great to reminisce to the great songs from the seventies. Mark Christopher nicely captured the whole rebellious atmosphere of 54. We're given a taste of the drug addiction and even the sexual promiscuity that made the place famous--there's a scene where a couple shamelessly pounds away on the balcony. I read one person's review, saying that this movie should've been an hour longer. I find it ironic that people watch movies that are two and a half to three hours long and complain, "Oh, this movie dragged! Oh, this movie needed more editing!" Yet they watch a succintly timed film like this and complain it's too short. This may not have been the most thorough examination of the famous nightclub, but I think it got to the point. No reason why we have to go into every tiny detail.

This is a serious, dramatic film but it's also very entertaining. I actually had a smile on my face when the movie ended. It ended on a happy note without having that forced, schmaltzy Hollywood feel. Plus, I really like that song "Knock on Wood" that they played over the credits.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Director's Cut review - an originally disappointing film reborn into something worthwhile

[MatthewInSydney · 7/10 · 12 June 2015]

The studio executives who ruined the first release version of this film in 1998 have a lot to answer for, but the director has had the last word and proved he was right all along, with the new Director's Cut (which I saw at the Sydney Film Festival tonight), which is an ENTIRELY different and improved experience. From now on, I don't think there should be any reason for anyone to watch the original release version again, the improvement is that dramatic. The one aspect that may irritate some viewers is that a few of the 'new' scenes have slightly lower image & sound quality than the rest of the film, as they obviously weren't able to find perfect quality footage for every restored scene, and the editing between some scenes doesn't always feel entirely smooth. And some weaknesses in the film still remain - such as Ryan Philippe, who is a bit limp despite being more than pretty enough for the role. But in so many other ways this is a far far better film, taking a film I'd only have rated maybe a 4 in the past, to at least a 7 now. About 40% of the film feels entirely changed, all for the better. There's a lot more life to the nights at the club, now that they've been able to put back the sex & drugs the studio removed (no movie about 1980-era disco makes any sense once you remove them). The parties are wild and bisexual and very disco. And the whole direction of the drama has been altered, now that the dull studio-imposed romance with Neve Campbell has been removed. Neve is still there in a small role, but the film now focuses on Ryan's love triangle with Salma Hayek & Breckin Meyer instead, which is far more interesting. Everyone who worked on the film should be happy with the Director's Cut, which proves they were making something pretty decent (until the studio stuffed it up).

Superficial and awkward, but with a pleasurable, hedonistic nostalgia...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 12 February 2012]

Writer-director Mark Christopher worked hard at recreating the sinfully decadent magic of Manhattan's Studio 54, the number-one celebrity hangout from the late-1970s into the 1980s, but he skimped on the most intriguing part of the nightclub's history: the relationship between business partners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Mike Myers was a terrific choice for the flamboyant, eccentric Rubell, but Schrager has gone missing. Instead, the story is told from the point-of-view of a busboy-turned-bartender (!), a muscular rube whose innocence is soiled by boss Rubell's dirty business dealings and hedonistic trappings. The film has a low-budget feel which doesn't make itself present in the production so much as in the character-driven scenes, which are underpopulated, padded with real and faked black-and-photos, and further undermined by stilted dialogue. Ryan Phillipe is well-cast as the young stud from New Jersey whom Rubell takes under his wing, yet his voice-over narration is uncomfortably omnipresent, telling us things we can see or perceive for ourselves, and the interrelationships between the club staff are uninteresting. Some of the music is good, bringing back those long-ago nights of carefree sex and dancing-the-night-away, but Christopher doesn't grasp the big picture. As a result, the film (at best) is a series of precious little moments struggling to surface. ** from ****

Surprisingly well done.

[iliawarlock · 26 January 2001]

One does not usually expect a popular movie to be much good, namely because it caters to the tastes of a crowd, which are notoriously un-demanding. Rarely, however, one finds a film which delivers on its promises. This, fortunately, was one of these films. The acting was the high point of the film. Mike Myers wore his role like a skin, naturally and easily. Ryan Phillippe proved that despite occasional bursts of negative popular opinion he is more than a simple dime-a-dozen pretty boy, and possesses both skill and talent, both of which are put to good use. (And he is good looking, which despite all else, never hurts. But, let's not belabor the obvious). The filming was excellently done, with a good eye towards shock and an occasional shot of strangely unexpected beauty. The only real objection one could put to this film is that it was far too short. Several sub-plots came up which were either abandoned or underdeveloped, and the ending, while highly effective, had a slight air of "deus ex machina" about it. On the whole, though, a talented, unusually intelligent film with excellent actors and direction. Well worth watching.

Playground of the elite

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 February 2014]

Once upon a time in the not too distant past a man named Steve Rubell who to look at in this film and in real life was not all that much decided to create a playground where only the elite could participate. Two criteria decided who was among the elite, power and beauty. Rubell courted the powerful and selected only the beautiful. He created Studio 54 on West 54 Street in Manhattan and people would beg to be admitted. I was actually in the place once, not on charm, beauty, or personality mind you, but for a political fundraiser when it was rented out.

One who got in on sheer beauty in this film was New Jersey kid Ryan Phillippe and it is through his eyes that the story of 54 unfolds. And we see Mike Myers as Steve Rubell who reveled in the company of the powerful and beautiful, indulged in all the vices, and stole from his own business like the wise guys in Goodfellas used to rob the cargo shipments at JFK Airport like it was an ATM. Missing from the story is his partner Ian Schrager, still very much with us, still very much a power player. It's for that reason he is missing, but it renders 54 inaccurate from the start.

Phillippe has no problem using his looks and body to get all the sex he wants and to advance himself and establish. It's the main lesson he learns from Myers. What he sees as an ultimate goal in life, is something in the end he rejects.

Myers is fascinating and repellent at the same time. You've got to wonder why people would curry favors from this man, but in point of fact it happened. You know where he's headed and 54 makes you want to see him fall, at the same time you wish you could be part of the 54 scene.

Selma Hayek and Breckin Mayer play a couple who work at 54, a married couple who take Phillippe in. The hedonist atmosphere puts a strain on their marriage like few others are tested. Also Neve Campbell, a soap actress who is from New Jersey like Phillippe is also an ambitious woman who teaches Phillippe a thing or two. They all register well.

In the end though 54 is in the joint custody of both Ryan Phillippe and Mike Myers. This was Phillippe's breakthrough part and Myers is not in this role a part of Wayne's World or Austin Powers. No this is the story of a self indulgent man who had a heady ride and a tremendous fall.

For the Director's cut only...

[chapisimo · 7/10 · 3 August 2021]

The director's cut is much more interesting, definitely.

Tepid approach to interesting subject matter

[oshram-3 · 4/10 · 9 October 2006]

If you hit your teens in the 70s, as I did, you probably remember the stories about Studio 54 whether or not you liked disco. An exclusive club, it was the perfect symbol of 70s cultural overindulgence and self-absorption; there's even an excellent VH1 documentary about the club that could tell you everything you wanted to know about its heyday, and the stories are easily interesting enough to spawn a very captivating film.

Sadly, this isn't it. 54 follows the lives of a few of its employees, a bartender named Shane (Ryan Phillippe), a busboy named Greg (Breckin Meyer), his wife, a coat-check girl, Anita (Selma Hayek), and of course the master of ceremonies himself, Steve Rubell (Mike Meyers). While the goings-on at the club are well represented, this film concerns itself more with the personal lives of the workers, following Shane's story the closest.

The movie works in spurts. Sometimes it captures perfectly the shallowness of the nightlife culture (such as when Shane is taken to a dinner party and doesn't know who 'Errol Flynt' is), and other times it waxes into hokey melodrama. Some of that is inherent in the premise – following the underlings as they mingle in the world of the rich and fabulous – but a lot of it is due to the kid-gloved treatment with which both the club and Rubell are given throughout the movie. While Rubell certainly electrified the scene in New York with his penchant for over-the-top spectacle and his exclusive hand-picking of the crowds each night, the rampant drugs and sexuality are only briefly touched on; and Rubell himself, while his excesses are mentioned, come off oddly positive for a guy who was in life a liar, a cheat, a drug abuser, and promiscuous as all hell. Not that I was looking for the man to be pilloried here, but his ego directly contributed to the fall of his club and the diminishing of the nightlife culture he helped to elevate. A final scene where he gazes down at the regulars paternally is so emotionally false as to be patently absurd.

Meyers does his best to capture Rubell, but he's given so little to work with here it's surprising his performance is effective; but he's good, and he helps to anchor the film. Philippe, whom I find generally to be a good actor, is hamstrung here by the shallowness and stupidity of his character; he's limited to a deer-in-the-headlights smile or a sullen uncomprehending frown, and even he can't translate that into a strong performance. Hayek and Meyer are both okay, again, undercut by the writing, and Neve Campbell – prominently featured on the DVD cover – appears so briefly she really has an extended cameo.

For some reason I still find myself interested, even fascinated, by the popular culture of the second half of the seventies. But even given that, this is not a film that particularly engaged me, despite a predisposition to like it. I'd say if that era, or that club, has any interest for you, track down the VH1 special rather than this middle-of-the-road melodrama.

So underappreciated

[swordfish_man · 7/10 · 7 February 2019]

This movie is a gem. If you can get your hands on the Directors Cut, do it! It's brilliant, and you can see what the film was meant to be. I made my own edit with the Directors cut, and I added all the additional Neve Campbell scenes they filmed for the theatrical version.

All in all, I think it's a great look at what the 54 nightclub must have been like. But seriously, get the Directors cut.

Poor Film

[Stadium_Hot · 4/10 · 14 January 2007]

54 is a film about a club with that very title in the setting of the 70s era. It features the classic good-looking bartender. The sexy females. The high powered owner. The partying. When all entwined together chaos ensues, and the bartender (played by Phillipe) seems to be at the brunt of it all.

I'm going to be as blunt and honest as possible, whilst avoiding any outright unfair or untrue comments (like, it's an 'ok' film). I really do find it a completely dire film complimented by it's dire cast. Every time I sit down to watch a film casting Salma Hayek, I am always awaiting to see her beauty, radiantly expressed simultaneously with a great performance, but, reality invariably reminds me quite abruptly how utterly talentless she is. I mean, really, what has she ever bequeathed the masses with, other than her immense table dance in 'From Dusk Till Dawn'...? The same goes for Ryan Phillippe, another poor actor who gives nothing to the screen but his good looks and insanely dull facade otherwise known as 'acting'. Mike Myers, isn't quite as bad as these 2, he does at least give the Film something worthy. Playing the seedy, extroverted co-founder of the 54 Club. The type that the majority watching would hate (i.e. job well done), he puts in a somewhat convincing performance that gave me rare enjoyment from the flick. But alas, it is not enough to rescue the film from it's baseless and flat nothingness. Most 'bad' bad films I find something to take from the film, but this has nothing to it, really. Neve Campbell isn't too bad, but she is just 'there'. The storyline is dull, it appears the writer was more bent on making a film of this style and embellishment and forgot to add anything else. Any meaning. Any class. Anything at all. Because like most ornaments, they are just hollow pointless objects, that are merely pretty to look at, much akin to the basis of this disastrous film.

Genuinely an hour and a half of time I could have spent better doing something much more exciting, like talking to 90 year old relatives on the phone about the weather.

Infernal Disco

[wilsonstuart-32346 · 6/10 · 29 December 2018]

The irony that my 54th review should be on this film....

As a big fan of Salma Hayek I had a long wait for '54', one of a slew of late 1990's projects that examined the decadent and excessive 1970s club scene. If Boogie Nights (a personal favourite of mine) set the pace, what could I expect from a high powered cast of (mostly) then favourites and a young director who was considered to be in the rise?

Truth be told, I found 54 something of a frustrating experience. This ought to have been a powerhouse drama, with a dream back story, and an equally able cast. Yet it never really ignites the way it ought to have done. Firstly, there was not enough focus on Mike Meyers's ruthless, materialistic club svengali. It was a pity that Meyers never sought to build on this dramatic success, instead opting to spend the remainder of the decade in misfiring comedies (Austin Powers excepted); had 54 concentrated on the relationship with an effective Ryan Philippe - tailor made for a pretty boy reliant on looks and shallow charm- then this might have been a different film. Phillippe manages to a fair job here, but cannot quite make the effort required to stamp himself on proceedings.

Instead, there's too much emphasis on a tepid 'love triangle' between the underwritten Salma Hayek (who later disowned the role - nothing particularly wrong with her effort but see above), and a hopeless Breckin Meyer. Meyer's hapless everyman routine is fine in the likes of Road Trip or Rat Race, but he totally lacks either looks, charisma or credibility that his role demands. Neve Campbell puts in little more than a glofied cameo; sorry to say, but almost anyone could have played her part.

I'm not being overly harsh or unfair. This is not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination, but I honestly felt that it could have been better. It makes a fair stab in terms of atmosphere and pathos, but I just felt it was lacking in certain areas where the likes of Boogie Nights, Go or even Party Monster succeeded. I understand that there's cut footage/deleted scenes out that there that may have made a major impact on the storyline - perhaps the kind of impact that Mark Christopher, Salma Hayek and Ryan Phillipe intended (perhaps). Until this material is properly assessed, I'm only reluctantly willing to endorse 54. A bit like that party you were looking forward to going to. You know, the one that never quite got started?

This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco, This Ain't No Fooling Around

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 18 January 2010]

Beautiful teenager Ryan Phillippe (as Shane O'Shea) is tired of cruising New Jersey with his plain boyfriends, and aches to go to Manhattan's famous "Studio 54" disco. There, he hopes to meet his idol, soap opera star Neve Campbell (as Julie Black). Taking off his shirt for "54" manager Mike Myers (as Steve Rubell) helps Mr. Phillippe gain admittance to the club. Working in his gym shorts gets Phillippe invited to hobnob with celebrities like Princess Grace and Andy Warhol. Eventually, Phillippe gains celebrity status. He models for magazines and gets "the clap". Will the world of sex, drugs, and disco get Phillippe down?

Probably, you won't care, because there is so little depth to this film. Phillippe is very attractive, but the character is limp. Ms. Campbell is seen little, and adds the same. The second tier coupling of busboy Breckin Meyer (as Greg) and singer Salma Hayek (as Anita) adds some sexual energy. Mr. Myers is wasted. You may get a kick out of drug-snorting grandma Ellen Albertini Dow (as "Dottie" aka "Mona"). And, Heather Matarazzo (as Grace) does well as Phillippe's sister. Reportedly censored, Mark Christopher's "54" holds back far too much. It's almost impossible to believe anything this bland could have been so popular.

***** 54 (8/28/98) Mark Christopher ~ Ryan Phillippe, Mike Myers, Salma Hayek, Breckin Meyer

Mike Myers should have received that rumored Oscar nomination for this movie...

[joely-3 · 8/10 · 17 June 2000]

While the acting is pretty dull in this movie, Mike Myers proved that he can handle serious drama. Shortly after this movie came out, it was rumored that Mike Myers would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for playing the Studio 54 owner. I would have strongly agreed with this nomination, and I only recommend 54 to anyone curious about the serious side of Mike Myers.

Entertaining enough but better to stick with the cd.

[MOscarbradley · 6/10 · 5 May 2017]

A look down the cast list of Mark Christopher's "54" might provide a few surprises. Yes, before he decided he wanted to be the King of the World Donald Trump turned up as a patron as did Michael York, Sheryl Crow, Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum, Art Garfunkel and Peter Bogdanovitch but I wouldn't waste my time trying to pick them out of the darkness. The film is a 'biography' of New York's famous Studio 54 as seen through the eyes of hot young busboy Ryan Phillippe, (he spends most of the film with his shirt off). Michael Myers is Steve Rubell, the club's manager and the cast also includes Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell and "Welcome to the Dollhouse's" Dawn Wiener herself, Heather Matarazzo. It's not much of a movie; it's mostly like a sex obsessed music video but the music's great which makes up for a lot and it does capture the hedonistic, drug-fuelled atmosphere of the place while Myers is surprisingly good, Still, maybe you would be better off buying the double cd instead.

So disappointed..

[Fount · 2/10 · 11 October 1998]

This is the second worst, and most disappointing film I've seen this year. With such a great potential given the history of the club, it's well know patrons, and the endless possibility of storylines, the film is wasted on ficticious characters and their moronic, boring storylines. I knew the that the film was bad, when the only references to real people were those who were deceased (Steve Rubel, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote). My guess that every person associated with the movie still living threatened to sue if the were portrayed. Forget this movie, and catch the "Behind the Music" documentary of Studio 54 on VH1. It is much, much better.

Not too shabby

[Jodie-4 · 23 February 1999]

This is, by no means, going on my 1998 Top Ten list, but I'm willing to cut it some slack. I thought it told the story quite well, and captured the rise and fall of Studio 54 wonderfully. The performances were all good, but it's Mike Myers that impressed the hell out of me. In this film he proved himself to be an actor, and a damn good one. Although I anxiously await the new Austin Powers flick, I hope that Myers keeps taking roles that force him to stretch his limits.

the last days of disco

[ptb-8 · 7/10 · 11 July 2010]

If you have a great home sound system and a big plasma TV then 54 can be a spectacular home experience. Unlike the real thing. STUDIO 54 as a disco scene is legendary but lemme tell ya, in Sydney in 1988-1994 we had the gigantic real thing: massive and spectacular dance parties (no NOT raves) but massive disco nights in a place that held 5000 people and staged Busby Berkeley sized massive dance entertainment. See any Kylie Minogue concert today to get a sense of we had for free at the time! They were called RAT parties and BACCHANALIA events. Often our own big disco clubs competed and it was massive and musical and a throb of wild night fun unlike anything I have seen in any movie anywhere. STUDIO 54 as a small movie version of what we know as gigantic and real in our own Australian lives and makes us look like Hollywood epic disco. What is in this film is quite puny and tacky compared to the real thing here. I thought the film was a good but could have been great disco drama. There has always been a call for a great BIG disco film or a dance party spectacular and Saturday NIGHT FEVER and 54 and even parts of WEST SIDE STORY about as close as we will get I guess. Ryan Phillippe is cute and Adonis and well cast as the pretty chipmunk bar boy, Brecken Myer believable in their NY suburban angst.... as is all the cast esp the girls Selma Hyack and gorgeous Neve Campbell...however the dialog at the end of the film where they reconcile is truly lame and lets the film down. I real life these characters would both end up as prostitutes. But it is Mike Myer pulling off another creepy performance (see CAT IN THE HAT for the other) that is the core of the film. Studio 54 as depicted in this almost-there setting looks like a stinky old cinema with nut-case clients and ghastly B grade celebrities. (Do The Time Warp, anyone?)

I am glad I wasn't there for real as what happened here was real and astonishing. I hear there is a very sleazy and sexually explicit directors cut of 54 and that would be more to the mark as this is an almost-Disney version of what we can see had greater depths of nude depravity... all to a pulsating disco beat!

54 A look back

[sraweber369 · 6/10 · 25 March 2011]

54 is the story of the famed New York night club by the same name. The movie was OK at best. The main problem is that the characters do not live up to the excitement of the famed club.

The story revolves around Shane (Ryan Phillipee) WHO is a Jersey boy and lands a job at the club. He is soon promoted by Steve (Mike Meyers). I have a problem with this for what boss promotes someone to bar tender with no previous experience. Well Steve is skimming money from the till to hide it from it from the IRS. In the mean time Anita who works in the coat check (Selma Hyak) is aspiring to be a singer.

While Meyers gives a very good understated performance as Steve the rest of the characters are only marginally interesting. So the movie just kind of winds down to the eventual conclusion. Making this a rather forgetful movie experience.

Not freedom

[paul2001sw-1 · 3/10 · 5 February 2005]

Elite nightclubs are all about hedonism and the power of the young, rich, and beautiful; places where a rigid hierarchy holds sway, albeit an alternative one. One may understand why those in the in-crowd may enjoy such places; but to suggest that they symbolise "freedom" is a rather strange interpretation. But every Hollywood film has to pay homage to this virtue, however still defined, and so '54', Mark Christopher's film about a once-fashionable New York venue, tries to suggest there was something idealistic about the place, in spite of the fact there seem few ideals on view. To strengthen this rather weak idea, his script casts lead actor Ryan Phillipe as a young Adonis, who is far too sweet to serve as a useful vehicle into the dark side of this underworld; but he tells us there was something mystical about the place, and as the audience, we're expected to believe him, although all we see are a lot of dancing, drug-taking, and sex. Which might not be unbelievable, but is hardly unique. Meanwhile, the film's plot goes nowhere and even seems to bottle out of it's own natural climax. The real Studio 54 might indeed have been where it was all happening; but this gentle homage is really very bland.

Good Club Movie

[dromasca · 7/10 · 22 February 2003]

54 is above the avearge with its recreation of the late 70s club scene in New York. The story of a New Jersey guy dreaming of the big city, and making it to the center of the sparkling night life is quite well done, with a good recreation of the athmosphere and some truth in the psychology of the characters. Acting is fair to good, music is fun, and there is less melodrama than in similar epoch stories. 7/10 on my personal scale.

Could have been much better

[MovieAddict2016 · 4/10 · 16 December 2005]

"54" is a film based on the infamous "Studio 54" of the 1970s - the hangout for the social elite and party clubbers. In the film, Ryan Phillippe is the main character, based on an actual employee of Studio from 1977 - 1982.

The film's problem is that it's all glitter and style and no substance. It tries to be a really grimy and probing satire like "Boogie Nights" but ultimately comes across as an inferior wannabe. Mike Myers is given the thankless task of playing cocaine-snorting club owner Steve Rubell. It's only a slightly comedic role and if this was Myers' best attempts at sliding into drama like Lemmon and other comedic actors did in their time, it's a total failure.

"54" could have been insightful and interesting but instead it's just another dumb teen flick that isn't entertaining or even remotely engaging. View at your own peril.

Director's cut

[rivertam26 · 6/10 · 28 July 2020]

I suppose this cut leaves the promise of a better film. But to be honest I still prefer the guilty pleasure cut that was released in theaters. Centering around a sexy young man played by Ryan Phillippe who discovers the famous club in its hey day and is sucked into the glamorous nightlife becoming a drawing attraction. This version goes a bit more into the dirty details and isn't shy about showing the gay goods. But although there are some solid bits here and there. The movie feels disconnected and confusing. It jumps from scene to scene and doesn't bother trying to make it all make sense. The original cut for better or worse tells a fluid story with themes that come full circle even if it's a bit goofy.

Budget: $18M Box Office: $16.8M

6/10

Another One of those Films

[The-Sarkologist · 4/10 · 20 July 2019]

This is another one of those films that I am not really all that sure why I wanted to watch it. I guess in part I wanted to watch a film about hedonism in the late 70s, particularly during the disco era, mostly because I've sort of experience the rave era of the beginning of the 20th century, and in part wanted to get a taste of it. Maybe in another sense I really wanted something a little more retro in feel, though of course this film was released in 1998, so it is definitely not retro in that regards.

The film is basically about this rather infamous nightclub in New York called Studio 54. Basically, it was the place that pretty much everybody wanted to get into, but unless you were really famous, had oodles of money, or the owner, Steve Rubell, thought that you were drop dead gorgeous, and wanted you to be a part of his club. Well, that is basically what happened with this guy from Jersey city - Shane.

He was young, and Jersey city really isn't a place that is renowned for its nightlife, particularly since you happen to have New York just across the river. As such, one night they decide to ditch this town and decide to go and check out the big city. Well, while standing out the front, amongst the crowds trying to get into Studio 54, he is noticed by Steve and called over. Mind you, he wants him to enter, as long as he removes his shirt, so he does so, and thus his life changes.

Well, it changes in the sense that he comes back and manages to score himself a job there. He starts off as a bus boy, that is he collects bottles, and eventually makes his way up to the position of bartender. Apparently if you work in this club thenn, well, you do actually get paid a pretty decent amount of money, and that is on top of the tips, and all of the goodies that the drugged out patrons tend to leave behind. Oh, and this isn't just a job, it is actually one long big party.

Yeah, this is a film about hedonism, and in many cases we know where it is heading. Sure, not all films about hedonism have bad endings, but we do tend to know what eventually came from the club, namely that the IRS shut it down. Apparently the version I watched ended with Shane and his friends making up after Rubell was arrested, but I get the feeling that there are versions of this film that have much more happening at the end, namely that once Rubell is taken out of the picture, and Studio 54 shut down, then a number of other clubs start up on a similar theme, which means that once Rubell is released from gaol, he finds that he can no longer compete.

Look, it turned out that this film was, well, pretty bad. It is pretty much similar to a lot of other hedonistic movies out there, namely about a guy that pretty much makes it big because of his looks, and then it all crashes down around him. Mind you, it didn't really do all that well at the cinemas, but that was probably because it was heavily cut. However, it has since been making a resurgance, especially since the footage has been moved about a bit. Still, it really wasn't one of those films that particularly impressed me all that much.

And did what corporations always do...

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 7 March 2006]

When "54" got released, many critics claimed that it was just another attempt to get into the '70s nostalgia that had swept the country. It's more than that. The movie shows New York's Studio 54, an unusual club where young people danced to disco and could meet celebrities, as seen through the eyes of employee Shane O'Shea (Ryan Phillippe). At the end, he talks about, how after the government closed the place down, a corporation took it over and did what corporations always do: make the place safe and sterile. Steve Rubell (Mike Myers) built it up into a most unique hangout, and the corporation drained the life out of it.

So don't trust the critics. This was a really good movie.

Just Great!!

[LisA_siMp · 7/10 · 31 December 2000]

this movie is amazing, is great! the plot is very interesting, and the performances are really good. The movie is about the splendor and the imminent decadence (with the disco age) of the biggest and greatest exclusive night club called "Studio 54". And it´s also the story of a young boy (Ryan Phillippe, a great actor and also the cutest) and how make his dreams come true: be a member of the exclusive "studio 54".

Anyway, I recommend this movie a lot.

Movie titled under false pretenses

[osufbf · 3/10 · 12 October 2022]

I remember when this movie came out and the reviews for it were terrible back then. I'm sitting here over 20 years later watching it again for some reason and I remember why they were so terrible.

The movie is unfortunately not about the salaciously real story involving the infamous night club's owner, Steve Rubell, and the dirty way he ran it into the ground with his greed. This is nothing more than a club movie slapped with the 54 title to rope people into watching it, glossing over the true backstory of how Rubell created one of the biggest nightclubs in the world but then just a few years later after it's creation, brought it crashing to the ground through years of stealing and tax evasion.

The real story is interesting, however this one isn't. Mike Myers looks confused as how to play the infamous Rubell, stuck between Austin Powers and Wayne Campbell while lead actor Ryan Phillipe gives his usual performance wear seems like he's grimacing most of the time to hold in having to take a crap. Which was like all of his performances, painful to watch and nothing but crap. No wonder the dude isn't acting anymore, he was awful back then.

The only performance I can't understand why she got a bad review by some people was Neve Campbell. I found her character fairly interesting, even though it was slightly misplaced. Like most of this movie, it was jumbled up and the real story was glossed over which would have been a lot more interesting to see. But this was nothing more than a club piece dressed up with the title.

If you want to watch a club movie that has little to do with the actual club and is essentially nothing more than dudes walking around half naked then this will definitely be for you.