Episode 93 — Staying Alive: LIVE!

[JulyDiaz 2797]

The art of dance, sweat, and slow-mo sex faces are all brought to you by Sylvester & Frank Stallone in the sequel to Saturday Night Fever. Recorded LIVE at Largo in Los Angeles, special guest Katie Dippold joins Paul, June, & Jason to talk about the Broadway production of Satan's Alley, John Travolta turning down a three-way with two new wave girls, and how much June knows about dance. Plus, we finally find out whether a sweaty Travolta or Evil Ernest oozes more sexuality and everyone breaks into dance during 2nd Opinions.

 

 

Los Angeles: Get your tickets now for a LIVE HDTGM at Largo on Saturday, September 20th at 10pm over at www.largo-la.com! It will be a night we call, You Can Sing But Can You Act? with Mariah Carey’s Glitter at 8pm and Miley Cyrus’ LOL at 10pm.

 

Make sure to tune into the brand new season of The League on Wednesday nights at 10pm over on FXX and check out The Hotwives of Orlando now over at www.hulu.com!

 

Also, you can now check out Paul in “Jason Nash is Married” available on iTunes, Jason Mantzoukas in “They Came Together” in theaters & VOD, June Diane Raphael & Casey Wilson in ASS BACKWARDS for free on Netflix & HULU & Paul in OJ: The Musical available on VOD & iTunes! Don’t forget to grab yourself a brand new HDTGM Daredevil T-shirt over at the Earwolf store and a copy of Paul’s comic book Aliens Vs. Parker now available at www.amazon.com!

[crumbcake 104]

I couldn't sleep since watching the movie earlier. Sat here refreshing the page waiting for the episode because I needed to hear someone discuss this film, if only so I could be sure I didn't just go mad for 90 minutes.

[Valerieblaise 74]

Great episode. Like Paul, I can't stop listening to "Far From Over." Maybe I'll see if dancing to it every day improves my health. So far it has only confounded my dog, who is coincidentally named Frank.

 

I'm usually great at spotting cameos, so I can't believe I missed both Richie Sambora and Patrick Swayze.

 

June is 100% correct that Evil Ernest would have rocked this movie.

 

The only thing they omitted (as far as I remember) is discussing the headbands. They were annoying in the first viewing, aggravating in the second, and by the third time I watched the movie in a 48-hour period I just hated them with every fiber of my being.

[mattman92ish 823]

oh god this was perfect

[starri 116]

Oh, I wish there was video of the Second Opinions dance break.

[DanEngler 5249]

Oh, I wish there was video of the Second Opinions dance break.

Earwolf posted a brief snippet of it on their Instagram feed.

[PatrickFleury 4]

Earwolf posted a brief snippet of it on their Instagram feed.

Oh Dan, thank you so much for that. I have never been sadder not to be in a live audience then when I heard that and immediately came to the forums in the hope that somebody would have that.

[Missy Chrissy 40]

God help me, I tried to hate this movie, but I ended up enjoying it. For me, it's right up there with "The Room", so bad it's good.

[paultab 225]

It's worth mentioning that they bookend this movie with different verses from "Far From Over," probably because each verse fits with what is happening at the time:

 

"This is the end/You made your choice and now my chance is over/Thought I was in/You put me down and say I'm going nowhere"

(Travolta has a failing audition after trying to improvise his audition)

 

"Back in the race/I'm movin' in 'cause I am getting closer/I'm diggin' in/I want it more than anything I've wanted"

(Travolta just got the job and is now rehearsing for his big break)

 

In musical theatre terms, the second verse's use in the movie is used as a reprise. In a musical, there would have been a three-verse version at the top, then a fourth verse and chorus to drive it home at the end.

 

If I were a betting man, I'd say that Frank submitted this song as two separate parts before they realized they could stick them end to end and have a full song.

[rararachel 190]

Will there ever be another New York live show?

 

This movie sounds like a fever dream.

[paultab 225]

I think you mean a SATURDAY NIGHT fever dream! (self-five) (self-shame)

[cmac94 191]

This was the first HDTGM movie I got drunk for before watching and let me tell you, what an experience to have the details of this incredible movie come flooding back while listening to the podcast

[SteveLeBlanc 41]

They made mention of Stallone writing all of his films, I am fairly certain there is a Paul Hogan type of situation happening there.

[rachelpi 228]

I love the idea of ESL speakers finding this movie at a local library and then writing glowing reviews of it as a how-to guide for the titular "Staying Alive."

[jarrycanada 2483]

I love this scene, where we see Sylvester Stallone meet John Travolta passing on the street,

11min mark, Hey you look like me!

 

then we see Kurtwood Smith that I know from Robocop and that 70's show.

 

best line is in the bar, "i like to watch you walk"

 

Frank stallone is a musical genius!

 

I give this movie 5 stars, on imdb!!

 

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

They made mention of Stallone writing all of his films, I am fairly certain there is a Paul Hogan type of situation happening there.

Remember in the "Cobra" episode (or maybe it was in the forum) where they discussed how Stallone tried to get it changed to where he'd be credited as the new author of the book that it was based on that he DID NOT write? Craziness.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Given the ideas tossed around about where Tony goes after this, and the filmmakers penchant for showing every second of him walking in real time, I think the only logical direction for a trilogy to go in would be for him to just keep going and going while picking up followers in what could only be described as "Strutting Forrest Gump". Not even treating every woman in his life like shit will stop the strut!

[walterwoodsiv 215]

Jason mentioned this scene. But the whole thing is crazy. This is not a perfect copy of the script, just what I could find. Read that and tell me Tony isn't a creepy stalker rapist.

.......................

Tony enters Laura's dressing room unannounced.

 

Tony: Hi.

Laura: Yes?

Tony: I wanted to tell you I think you're an incredible dancer.

Laura: Thank you very much.

Tony: I'm a friend of Jackie Coll's. Tony Manero. It's important to have friends. I was saying that over breakfast.

Laura: Did you want something? An autograph, or something?

Tony: I'd like to get together and talk some time. Would that be possible?

Laura: About what?

Tony: About how incredible you are.

Laura: Thank you, but I already know that.

Tony: Say what?

Laura: I already know.

Tony: I used to be incredible myself when I lived in Brooklyn.

Laura: Really? What happened?

Tony: I moved to Manhattan. So, where exactly are you imported from? The vicinity of England?

Laura: So what do you do?

Tony: I'm sort of into telling the future. Great things will happen for you.

Laura: Oh, really? What great things?

Tony: You're going to meet this really, really sensitive, nice type of guy. Once you get to know him, you're going to be crazy about him.

Laura: I am?

Tony: Yeah!

Laura: So where is he?

Tony: I'll go get him. You just wait here. You'll love him. He's great.

 

She slams the door in his face. He throws it back open.

 

Tony: You nearly broke my face with the door! I'm giving you my best come-ons and you try to mangle my face.

Laura: Whatever. You seem to take pleasure in treating women as incredibly stupid.

Tony: If you're mad at me, I apologize. I thought I was being charming. You did try to damage my head. But the thing is that I amazingly respect your dancing talent. And your womanhood. I didn't always respect womanhood, but since I moved to Manhattan, I got this new, mature outlook. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't curse. Anyway, I would like to take you out. Maybe we could have a drink, maybe have some dinner. But someplace informal, because my suits are all being pressed.

Laura: Well, thank you but I have to go home early tonight.

............................

Why she didn't mace him and call the cops, I don't know.

[Cameron H. 23786]

To Jason's point of whether this was intended as a trilogy, I had the same thought just before he said it!

 

Thematically, I would say the trilogy would represent a person who catches a horrible disease (Saturday Night Fever), who goes into remission (Staying Alive), only for the person to have a horrible relapse (Dyin' Lights?).

 

In my mind, the movie would be a revival of Satan's Alley, but they cannot capture the intensity of Tony's performance. He has become a Broadway legend, because he strutted off into obscurity right after his one and only performance. They track him down at the paint shop he now owns and coax him in to returning into the limelight to choreograph the show. He is single (of course) but living on the mental masturbation of his past success. John Travolta reprises his role, but we don't give him a chance to get back into fighting shape. He must also inexplicably wear the show's costumes for 90% of the film and perform all the dance routines to show the new cast how it should be done. I don't think we can get Stallone back, but maybe Joel Schumacher would be interested... I think he would absolutely kill it!

 

I am open to any suggestions anyone might have for an alternate title...Dyin' Lights just doesn't have the punch I am looking for.

 

We can do this! Lately, all these aging actor's are dying to recapture past glories through unnecessary sequels. If we buy enough copies of Staying Alive and "Far from Over" it will raise some eyebrows and generate the required interest.

 

Finally, for future T-shirt ideas I have two suggestions and both require a sweaty, bandanna-ed Travolta in eighties day-glow colors on the front:

 

1) "Every Step Up movie can suck a dick!"

2) Front: "Is he even sympathetic? *Travolta's face* Reverse: "Oh, heavens no!"

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

I haven't seen this in a while, but with the way they talk about it, am I correct in assuming it's one of an entire group of movies where the audience IN the film has a weird meta knowledge where they're privy to the same information that we, the audience watching the film, only have? For instance, main character has a conversation with a loved one about some seriously personal shit, he makes a shoutout to that moment later during a piano recital, a martial arts exhibition, or the first performance of a Broadway show, and the crowd loses their fucking mind instead of asking "The fuck was that? That made NO sense at all". My go-to for this has always been the Brittany Murphy/Dakota Fanning joint "Uptown Girls", where the kid starts doing some stupid air guitar bullshit during the big important ballet thing and the crowd fucking loves it.

[SteveLeBlanc 41]

Remember in the "Cobra" episode (or maybe it was in the forum) where they discussed how Stallone tried to get it changed to where he'd be credited as the new author of the book that it was based on that he DID NOT write? Craziness.

 

Yeah, I had sort of forgot about that conversation (pretty sure it was on the actual episode), but the combination of those two things is probably what triggered my memory. Such a scumbag move.

[Shannon 2953]

I've only listened to the intro at this point but I need to say... DON'T LISTEN TO PAUL. DON'T WATCH "LOL"

 

I'm still really really angry that I did.

[jarrycanada 2483]

Shannon you haven't watched the movie yet? is that what your saying here. I don't regret downloading this on itunes..unlike some movies the gang picks.

[Joe Lerini 7329]

This was glorious. I agreed with just about everything said about Tony being a horrible monster and Jackie being the true protagonist of the film.

 

BUT, as much as I (geniunely) loved the music of Frank Stallone, Tommy Faragher's "(We Dance) So Close to the Fire" really stuck with me and I felt I had to download it after the movie was over (I know I mentioned this in the mini-sode's thread last week).

 

 

Also, one of the new wave girls Tony rejects early in the movie was played by Joyce Hyser, star of the classic Just One of the Guys.

 

EDIT: Staying Alive was on TV just last night (Movieplex, specifically), and I seriously considered watching it again, even though it was, like, 3 in the morning.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Also, one of the new wave girls Tony rejects early in the movie was played by Joyce Hyser, star of the classic Just One of the Guys.

 

 

 

Wow! So glad you caught that! I LOVED Joyce Hyser in Just One of the Guys! She dressed like Elvis Costello and looked like the Karate Kid. In a previous thread I recommended it for HDTGM.

 

Not to derail the conversation regarding Staying Alive, but Just One of the Guys also has one of those weird things where the teenagers in the movie don't like music from their own era. Paul, brought it up in one of the previous episodes (Smurfs, I think). He said something like how modern teen comedy movies always seem to have a eighties number in the middle of it. In the eighties it was fifties/sixties music. I always found that pretty bizarre. Maybe it's because what is a hit song when a movie is made might be a pop culture punchline by the time it is released. In other words, using hit songs from the past gives the benefit of hindsight. Everyone likes James Brown, right? He's timeless, right? I guess sometime during this decade all the kids will be listening to Ace of Base and Bush.

 

(btw--Is there a a reason why Smurfs isn't in the Earwolf archives for HDTGM?)