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Can't Stop The Music
Pinnacle, Los Angeles, 1980
The blurb on the back: A Photobook to help you remember always - the movie musical event of the 80s The official revisionist line, as I understand it, is that Can't Stop The Music is a fantastic film, one of the last flowerings of the halcyon days of disco. Camp as a row of pink tents full of men having gay sex, of course, but innocent despite itself. Unfortunately it emerged just as the Village People's star was already on the wane. It's not always remembered that, while 'YMCA' and 'In The Navy' had been huge international hits, 1979's 'Go West' wasn't much of a success at the time - it failed to make either the British top ten or the US top 40 - and the title track of this movie fared no better. According to band-member Felipe Rose, the release of the film and the collapse of the career were in no way coincidental:
Apart from making some of us bristle with indignation (what's wrong with working in Europe?), there is some exaggeration here: the Village People weren't that tough, and consequently Can't Stop The Music wasn't quite the equivalent of Public Enemy re-making Summer Holiday. However, Mr Rose is right that it really wasn't very good. The joy of the photo-novel of the film - on the other hand - is that you can enjoy all the campness, without committing an hour and a half of your time.  An hirsute gentleman ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3/5 HIPNESS QUOTIENT: 4/5  where the happy people go alt.sex movies home |
