While Travolta’s acting has been long appreciated, the supporting cast also gave many superb performances. Donna Pescow is a standout as Annette, who is obsessed for the attention of Manero, whom she swoons for to the point of severe desperation. A scene where she wants to be with Manero so badly that she presents him with Trojans, only to be have him rebuff her (very coldly), is so sad and Pescow’s reaction so genuine it breaks your heart. And while Joseph Cali and Paul Pape are amazing as two of the more dominant members in Manero’s circle, Barry Miller steals the show as Bobby C, a hurting teen (whose mind is all-consumed with fears concerning his expectant girlfriend) who is really only part of The Faces as he has wheels and chauffeurs The Faces around. He is an emotional mess and he steals the scene from Travolta and company at the climactic and tragic Verrazano-Narrows Bridge showdown. Why Miller was not given a Best Supporting Actor nod is a mystery.
Fever is also a great New York film and captures the sometimes unfriendly vibe of the times so well (e.g. racism, bad economy, unemployment, etc.) that it is on a par with Mean Streets and is a film that Martin Scorsese could have done (though he would have done it much differently, and John Badham’s direction is dead-on).
And if you were aware in 1978 of how hot the soundtrack was, you would know that the Bee Gee’s songs were inescapable for a couple of years after the premiere of Fever (not to mention that the soundtrack was the biggest selling record in the world, a title it held until the release of Thriller).
The 30th Anniversary DVD has many extras; most interesting are the comments with several cast and crew members. Barry Miller adds some very astute comments with his modern day observation that Fever is on par with Rebel Without A Cause and how Bobby C. and Manero’s relationship was akin to the one between the roles that James Dean and Sal Mineo portrayed in Rebel.
Saturday Night Fever is the Rebel Without a Cause for the '70s and the number of people who still say to this day that seeing Fever changed their lives is abundant.
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