Written by Senora Bicho 

Flashdance, what a feeling! Leg warmers, big hair, torn t-shirts, over-the-top music, and all of the other fabulous aspects of the ‘80s are well represented in this Special Collector’s Edition.

The movie was released in April 1983. I was 10 at the time so I wasn’t even aware of the impact it was having on pop culture. I didn’t come to appreciate it until high school when my friends and I would watch it over and over again along with listening and dancing to the soundtrack. I loved this film and felt that it was a movie engendering female power. The music is still fantastic but the rest of the film leaves a little to be desired.

Flashdance is the story of an 18-year-old welder who dreams of being a dancer. Jennifer Beals plays the lead role of Alexandra (Alex) Owens. Beals is adorable in the role and gives the character warmth and innocence. In order to achieve her dream of getting into a well-renowned dance school, Alex dances in her off time at a gentlemen’s club. The key about this club is that the women do not dance nude and are given artistic freedom in creating their dance numbers with music and costumes. The first dance number Alex performs grabs the attention of Nick Hurley played by Michael Nouri. Hurley turns out to be the boss at the steel mill. He repeatedly asks her out only to be continuously turned down. One night Alex is being harassed by the owner of an X-rated club and Hurley comes along to save the day. Thus, their romance begins.

One big problem I now have with the film is the fact that Alex is only 18 while Hurly is much older. I didn’t remember this when I had watched it way back, but it seems a bit creepy now. However, there is a connection between the characters and their chemistry works. The reason being the music and the dancing carry the movie. The overall plot and subplots are extremely weak; the movie is really just one big music video. The music elevates the film to another level and would make anyone want to get up and dance. The best song of them all is the title track, “Flashdance . . . What a Feeling,” performed by Irene Cara which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Another criticism of the film that created a lot of controversy at the time was the fact that Beals didn’t actually do the dancing; she had a double. This is very distracting because it is very obvious when it’s not Beals. The hair gives it away as well as the times when you can actually see the double’s face. I am not sure why they didn’t go with a trained dancer in the role. Cynthia Rhodes plays a friend and fellow dancer at the club. She is an amazing dancer who also had supporting roles in Dirty Dancing and Staying Alive. I think the film could have been better and more credible if she had played the main character.