Xanadu
Last night I was a bit bored and flipping around the TV channels and saw that some channel I’ve never heard of was showing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (the Peter Frampton / Bee Gees remake). I figured, what the heck, there’s nothing else on, so I tuned in. But then something odd happened. That’s not Frampton! That’s Olivia Newton John. And I recognized the song, too. They were running Xanadu instead.
Now I should explain something. Xanadu is one of two movies I can think of that I have never seen, but have always enjoyed the soundtrack (the other being Pretty in Pink). So, I decided to watch it for a bit and I learned something…
It is awful.
Shockingly, embarrassingly bad. The acting, the story, the cheesy effects, even the clothing (I know it was 1980, but even that doesn’t explain all of it). Even Olivia Newton John, who was smoking hot back then, couldn’t save this one! And Gene Kelly?!? How the heck did they convince him to do this movie? I understand it was the last feature film he ever made. I’m guessing he quit acting in disgust.
I still like the music, though. I wonder if Pretty in Pink is any good.