One of my all time favourites. I have watched it many times now It just gets better with every viewing. I can so see myself in John Travolta and his challenges with women, life and his career challenges. Totally a must see. Love it!!

It's clear, by the opening of this dance film that the main character has lose his strut. It got Tony Manero (John Travolta) walking around in a circle. It seems like he hasn't learn anything from the events depicted in the end of 1977's 'Saturday Night Fever', at all. He still has that same cocky, obnoxious attitude toward women, just not as slick, cool or confidently enough to charm himself off, as he used to. He's pretty much, the perfect storm of repulsive unlikeable. Just to put things in perspective, not only does Tony Manero, not win, back the heart of Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney) from the first movie; who is surprising, absented in this film, he doesn't even do his popular Disco dancing, anymore. No wonder, nobody like this version of Manero. Co-written and directed by Sylvester Stallone and produced by Robert Stigwood, this film followed up with Manero, six years later, after the events of the last movie, as he embarks on a new career, being the lead dancer in a Broadway dance show. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, this sequel to the much bigger musical sensation was highly disappointing. It's ignored everything that made the original film such a hit. Yes, I know, by 1983, the Disco Era was pretty much ended, but at least, keep the main character doing something relatable to that decade, like trying to save the Disco club from the mob, or something. After all, the 1970s was the film's key audiences. Without it, this movie is pretty directionless. I really don't understand, why the movie's timeframe, couldn't be, set, a few years, after 1977, rather than the six years, they had chosen. The whole outdated, time capsule explosion rock-musical gimmick, kinda work for the first movie. It's pretty hard to describe, this early 1980s film. It looks, feels, and acts, like something that shouldn't be, relate to 'Saturday Night Fever'. It's kinda jarring. It gets stranger as the film goes. By the time, you get to the musical, the dark Sexual masochism feel, 'Satan's Alley', you'll be asking yourself, this; "What? Does this crap, have to do with Disco Dancing!?" & how is this PG!? Beats me! I saw the film, and I have no answer for that. All, I know is that this movie kill Tony Monero & nearly ruin John Travolta's career. While Travolta is in the best shape of his life, here. His acting chops were somewhat mediocre, here. He looked angry, most of the time, even when he doesn't needed to. Due to that, he barely show, any sense of chemistry with anybody in the cast. Everything was so over the top or over melodrama. It didn't help that, his co-stars, were not that great as well. As much, as Cynthia Rhodes is great in dancing. She can't act, worth a damn. It's weird that certain scenes, calls for her character, Jackie to be angry. She acts so droopy, instead. It wasn't good. Anyways, I really don't understand, what Jackie sees in Tony. Why does she put up with Tony's antics? Her character is horribly written. Despite that, she's probably the most likable character in the movie, even if she is mind-boggling pathetic. At least, she wasn't Laura (Finola Hughes). I really couldn't stand that character. She was just as unpleasant and unlikable as Tony. Every scene with her, was very off-putting. While, this love triangle between the two women and Travolta's character formed the basis for the overheated plot. It's mostly dull-acting in a very repetitive and monotonous storyline. Another problem with the film is the choppy musical numbers. Some of the Bee Gees songs make sense, during the scenes, they're played, some of the others, don't really match, as well, as they should had. Most of the songs, here were blanded. This film also had way too much, badly edited, slow motion and odd freeze frame during the dance montages. It really felt like filler, just there to run the runtime. Also, there were way too much close up shots of John Travolta's junk. His huge camel toe crotch was way too distracting. It really made the story, hard to followed, with that 'thing', being expose to the audience like that. Although this musical dance sequel wasn't a major box-office flop, the film was savagely and soundly criticized as a prime example of horrible film-making, and it received a few Razzie Awards nominations, like Worst Actor for John Travolta, and Worst Supporting Actress for Finola Hughes. Overall: While, the first film had genuine depth of emotion and complex characters, this film has glorified over the top melodrama and shallowness. Substance takes a back seat to style, and where once there was grit, there is now show-boasting. For me, the best thing about this film, is the Sly Stallone cameo, and how epic bizarre, 'Satan's Alley' is. Other than that, it's nearly unwatchable.

After 'Saturday Night Fever', Tony Manero (John Travolta) is in Manhattan failing to make it on Broadway. He scrapes by as a dance instructor and as a waiter. His supportive girlfriend Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes) works as an exercise instructor and as a back-up dancer in a Broadway extravaganza starring Laura (Finola Hughes). His flirtations gets him into Laura's bed but she drops him after the one time. Both Jackie and Tony get chorus dancer roles in Laura's next big role. He's still possessive of Jackie who finally has had enough of him. He walks home to visit his mother and has some personal growth.I remember liking this spandex cheestastic affair back when I was a kid. I didn't love it but the acting is so big and they seem to come out of the Solid Gold Dancers. The flaws become obvious pretty quickly as one grows up. Sylvester Stallone does his favorite story once again with the underdog making it to the top. The movie is betrayed by its vision of Broadway. It is all flash and no substance. It doesn't help that it's terribly dated. Although even back then, it is overwrought without real drama. I think Stallone tried to transfer Rocky to Tony and failed to get his character.

After reading countless raving or at least positive reviews for this film, I felt that I needed to air a sane opinion.I recently watched Staying Alive on a cable network, 32 years after its original debut. The same reasons why the movie did not work then are present now. It was dated (seemed worlds away from 1977 yet felt out of joint in 1983). The acting outside of John Travolta (who, give the evil his due, was excellent) was wooden. Finola Hughes and Cynthia Rhodes had zero chemistry with Travolta (oddly, Tony Manero's "fan club" had an excellent charge with John). Even the sorry "walk back to Brooklyn sequence" failed to stir a link to the previous Saturday Night Fever.Sum it up to bad writing, worse acting, and yes, awful direction. And when Frank Stallone has the best song in the soundtrack (Far From Over), you know you are in deep trouble. Staying Alive is not the worst flick that you will ever see. But it will leave the viewer to think what could have been if the ghosts of the Disco Era had truly been left behind. And, if Travolta had a better cast and script to work with.