Watch 54 For Free

You won't be disappointed!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

If you put Cocktails and Boogie Nights together you get 54. Wait Boogie Nights came out just before 54??!!! Another one of Hollywood's tricks to make a similar movie. Yes Mike Myers played a great actor. His laugh, LOL!!!

54 (1998): Dir: Mark Christopher / Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Selma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers, Breckin Meyer: Dazzling film remembering Club 54 as the place to be. Set in 1979 with Ryan Phillippe venturing to Club 54 upon seeing a photo of soap star Neve Campbell in a newspaper. Club owner Mike Myers hires him as a bartender. The club demands a distinct appearance and upon removing his shirt, Phillippe is granted entry while his friends remain outside. Other key roles belong to Selma Hayek as a dancer whose bus boy husband steals money from the club. Campbell surfaces as a woman who hates her job and uses the club to escape the spotlight but her footage is almost unnecessary since it more or less disjoints the screenplay. Director Mark Christopher films it as an event with spectacular art direction. Mike Myers delivers the film's best performance as the corrupt club owner trying to avoid the I.R.S. He has both charm as well a loathing appeal where he can use employees at any means. Breckin Meyer plays Hayek's husband who is the real culprit when dirty deeds are passed. In the end it will all catch up with him as his empire crumbles. During the final credits we are given a glimpse of real celebrities that appeared in the club and represented its happening. It is a film about time and what occurs within it or how it stood still during club hours. Score: 9 / 10

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).

Despite all the music, dancing, flashy lights, and glitter, 54 wanders around blind deaf and dumb, making no progress and ends up amounting to nothing. What could be more frustrating than being asked to watch two hundred people party like it's 1999, and not getting a chance to be a part of it. The film is dull. It is set up a little like Boogie Nights (which itself was set up like Goodfellas) meaning of course that the story has a first person perspective, narration included with a blow by blow description of names places and faces, and "what a good time it was" or something like that. Too bad the narrator is a piece of cardboard, as is everyone else in the movie. Neve Campbell is the only one who feels human in her performance, yet she is given practically no screen time. If director Mark Christopher had bothered to spend as much time on character as he did on useless details like figuring out what color each light source should be, 54 may have amounted to something. It doesn't. Disco may be dead, but not half as much as this is.