MovieChat Forums > Flashdance (1983) Discussion > Why is this movie so hated?

Why is this movie so hated?

posted 8 years ago by mattiasflgrtll6
19 replies | jump to latest

A year ago, the movie didn't seem interesting to me and had no plans watching it. But as I became a fan of Adrian Lyne's work, I decided to finally check it out.

I thought it was great honestly! Terrific music, acting and most of all it gave me that... how should I put it... "spiritual feeling" that few movies succeed with. It made me smile and even feel emotional. So Beals didn't dance for real, who cares? Still a well-made movie either case which always has continued to be underappreciated, even though it contains one of the most iconic film moments of all time (the "She's A Maniac" themed dance scene).

And I really loved Jennifer Beals in it, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else doing that role.

[–] lambiepie-2 8 years ago

Let me shed some possible light.

Sure the story was fine... poor steel town girl gets a chance to audition for snotty upper crust ballet school..but the whole premise of sleeping with the right person to get the audition a chord with much of the audience back then. Wasn't quite the film's fault but around that time Prima Ballerinas were writing books and appearing on talk shows on how AWFUL their lives were under the hands of some of the top trainers of that time.

Then there is the dance controversy. Nowadays -- we don't give two hoots about such a thing because doubles get credit, star billing in some cases, etc. but that is because of what they DIDN'T get back then. And it was this film that helped make it happen. When the film first came out, the press was directed to make it all about "Jennifer" dancing (although Jennifer the model was also surrounded by REAL dancers like Cynthia Rhodes, and personally they SHOULD have cast Cynthia in the lead part and saved oodles on dancing doubles!).

Then, some nice person not associated with the production set the record straight and all hell broke loose. The main body double and dancer was revealed and then people felt they were being deceived. Jennifer Beals didn't even ride the bike! Marine did, and was contracted to shut up about it, as so to make Jennifer a ..star. Well, the public didn't like that so much back then, especially when they found out that not only Marine was a dancing double, but femal and male break dancers and hiphop dancers were too. But because of this, stunt performers, voice over artists, etc., were now going to get credit too and not be the industry's dirty little secret to make stars out of people who didn't quite do all the work as billed.

You make them beg for more, and then you don't give it to them!

[–] mattiasflgrtll6 8 years ago

Well, I guess in that sense, the controversy was necessary.

Still, I think the movie deserves more respect on an artistic level. The way Lyne directed this movie was incredible.

[–] lambiepie-2 8 years ago

Still, I think the movie deserves more respect on an artistic level. The way Lyne directed this movie was incredible.

I don't think there was anyone who didn't appreciate Lyne's craft as those dance scenes were phenomenally filmed (and to me ushered in a new wave to music videos!). I have been a fan of Lyne's work since Foxes, and I absolutely loved Jacob's Ladder.

"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!" 🐻

[–] cgraves04 8 years ago

Wow, it's weird how films can use CGI to replace a whole person now, and nobody bats an eyelash. Body and stunt doubles are really no big deal. Behind-the-scenes performers obviously deserve credit, but the idea that the public would feel deceived because they are used is ludicrous to me as someone who was born a few years after this film was released and who has grown up in the age of crazy stunts and special effects. This movie is much better than I was expecting it to be based on its legacy. But the times were unique, and maybe the public just wasn't ready to know just how totally manufactured everything in Hollywood is. It's interesting.

[–] manofsteel4455 8 years ago

it'd be alot worse if the movie came out today, since people want nothing but realism in movies.

[–] MariMcCabe 8 years ago

No it wouldn't. People are more familiar with dancing doubles.

[–] BartlebyScrivner 7 years ago

Sure, a lot of people like to bash Flashdance now, but, I'm inclined to believe a lot of that is bandwagon jumping and trendiness. It's cool to hate on popular things, and Flashdance was popular in a way that things like The Hunger Games and Maze Runner are popular today. It was the 3rd highest grossing film of 1983. You couldn't find the album in stores to save your life. MTV pretty much HAD to keep the songs in constant rotation due to the demand from viewers. Hell, for the next few years, women were still dressing like Jennifer Beals-- you could buy sweatshirts with ripped shoulders into the end of the decade. The movie was a cultural phenomenon, and if you asked someone in 1984 what their favorite movie of the previous year was, there was a very good chance they'd say Flashdance.

[–] Victoriavixen 7 years ago

I love it. It's a classic. It deserves a higher rating than 6.1.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 6 years ago

The plot sucks....okay she's an exotic dancer AND a welder who still wants to go to ballet school???

[–] yatzo376 (7452) 6 years ago

Agreed
80s cheez - that soundtrack was all over MTV IN 83

[–] Washingtonnative (2613) 6 years ago

The soundtrack itself was the only good thing about the movie.

[–] thbryn (226) 5 years ago

The answer is: it became this cultural touchstone and there was nothing to it. Fluff.

As has been said it had some huge records on MTV and every pop FM radio station in the country was talking about it. The sum of its parts --aspects were important-- had significance but the whole (viewing the 90 min.film) just wasn't worth much.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

Not for nothing, Braniac, but “the sum of its parts”=its whole.

What you probably meant to say, but could not, due to, dunno, stupidit?, “the movie was less than the sum of its parts”? Please don’t answer. You’re completely not worth my time.

[–] radarlove73 (109) 2 years ago

Washingtonnative, Spot on, i cringed through the bits of the movie that i could actually bring myself to watch, fast forwarded the majority of it.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

I doubt this movie is really hated. Visually it's pretty enthralling, but the workaday world wasn't realistic. Beals is a seriously hot woman, and she as a welder was too much to swallow. I guess the dancing scenes are what really make the film, and that's no small thing. A little bit brilliant on one hand and sort of dumb on the other.

[–] radarlove73 (109) 2 years ago

She wasn't hot, she was annoying.

[–] Tongue (445) a year ago

I didn’t know Flashdance was hated. I know a decent amount of people that like it -Beals, music, cinematography and the 80s feel makes it a worthwhile movie to me

[–] Otter (24464) a year ago

It's not hated! It was always just one of those movies that everyone liked, but nobody took seriously. Because it can't be taken seriously, none of the plot makes a damn bit of sense.

Why is there a club where men go to watch women put on fully-clothed jazz dance routines? Why is an adult jazz dancer trying to get into ballet school with little girls, instead of going to LA to be in music videos? How does a welder afford to live in a huge dance studio?

[–] [deleted] a year ago

Anyone who hates Flashdance is a cunt.