Dieu merci, c'est vendredi

This is about the only "disco" movie that I have ever liked. To me, it really captures the time & spirit of the late '70s disco craze. Everyone from Debra Winger and her co-worker looking for guys that don't wear polyester, to the great music of the Commodores and Donna Summer make this a nice slice of '70s nostalgia. Everything '70s is represented in this movie: 8-tracks, platform shoes, bell-bottom pants, leisure suits, I think there is even a Ford Pinto in the parking lot of the disco. I feel that this movie never got the recognition that it deserved. It seemed to be drowned out by "Saturday Night Fever" and "Can't Stop The Music". If you are looking for a movie that will bring back the feeling of the '70s, this one is a great choice.

After a while, you do realize that this automatic time-capsule movie doesn't have much of a story, but it does have a variety of subplots wrapped up in a trim hour and a half. Basically, "Thank God It's Friday" is a one-night-in-the-life-of-a-disco-palace type of deal, involving a smorgasbord of characters. There are two under-age girls (Valerie Landsburg and future Berlin singer Terri Nunn) itching to enter the big dance contest, a married couple (Mark Lonow and Andrea Howard) out for a night on the town (against his wishes), the womanizing club owner (Jeff Goldblum), a nice but klutzy girl (Debra Winger) looking for a nice guy, and the harried DJ (Ray Vitte) being pestered by an aspiring singer (real-life disco queen Donna Summer). And there's a concert performance by Lionel Richie and the Commodores!

Is "Thank God It's Friday" a "good" movie in any sense? Not really, but it does provide a fair amount of amusement in its very dated way. Everything about it just screams the late 1970s, from the fashions to the tunes. Its episodic nature prevents us from getting too annoyed, since there are some characters, like Dave (Lonow) and Gus (Chuck Sacci) who wear out their welcome *quickly*. The soundtrack is fun to listen to, and Donna does belt out the number "Last Dance" which actually won an Oscar for Best Song. The performances range from even-keeled (Winger is quite appealing) to unpleasantly hammy (Sacci plays such a jerk, that you can't help but cheer when he gets slugged). Chick Vennera is quite a hoot as a veteran disco dancer who swears by his leather wardrobe. And DeWayne Jessie (a.k.a. Otis Day) shows off his talents by playing a van driver who's trying to get to the nightspot in time to deliver to the Commodores their instruments.

One of the writers of "Last Dance" was actor / songwriter Paul Jabara, who plays the guy who gets stuck backstage.

You just *know* that this one is going to show you some goofy entertainment with its spin on the Columbia Pictures logo sequence.

Five out of 10.

More disco to the people! TGIF was a favourite TRIPLE album (actually two lp's plus a maxi single with Donna Summer singing Je t'aime (moi non plus) for 13 minutes) of mine long before I lay my hands on a copy of the film. The music is fantastic and the film is ... well ... unique.

The cover art and screen shots on the soundtrack album had intrigued me for years and watching the film was certainly no disappointment: Lots of weird characters, a weird plot and highly enjoyable. I particularly find the idea of having a dancefloor DJ doubling as a live radio DJ hilarious. Have you ever worked with radio, as a DJ or simply have a secret craving for obscure, dusty vinyl disco records - this is the film for you.

Everybody seems to be having a good time making the film. and Donna Summer are quite funny when she breaks into the DJ's booth and try to imitate - Donna Summer...

Finally - did the 1970's discos really close at midnight? :-)

THANK GOD IT'S Friday was released just as the disco craze crested, when anything and everything might happen during a night on the town, when sex was casual, and drink and drugs were still regarded in a lighthearted manner, and music wailed and blared with the likes of Gloria Gaynor and K.C. & the Sunshine Band. Within a few years Disco would be publicly declared dead--but it still lives on in the recordings... and in Donna Summer's screen image of the Disco Diva, shimmering in the spotlight beneath the mirror ball with a hibiscus tucked into her hair as she belts out her megaton hit, "Last Dance."

TGIF is best regarded as a cultural artifact, an attempt to show everything that was shiny about the Disco world without any reference to its down sides of sexually transmitted diseases, next-morning-hangovers, and serious drug addictions. The story is slight: a disco is hosting a big dance contest, and every one arrives at the door with personal ambitions. There is, of course, the singer who hopes to hit it big; two underage teen girls hot to be Disco Queens; a sweet young thing who hates polyester and is looking for Mr. Right in the wrong place; and a ladykiller looking to score his next victim. The film is most memorable for the look of the disco, which is the real star of the film, and the cast, which includes several performers on their way up: Jeff Goldblum as the lady killer; Deborah Winger as the anti-polyester good girl; and of all people a very, very young Terri Nunn, who would later score big as the front singer for the band Berlin.

There are all the usual running gags, and as a whole the film is only mildly entertaining. But then Donna Summer steps into the spotlight--and for a few moments everything that was magic about Disco lives and breathes again. For what it is--an incredibly light, mindless bit of tinsel--the film is well done, but it has an extremely limited appeal for a contemporary audience. Unless you were actually part of the disco scene and want to revisit old memories, you're better off catching it on the late-late show. But my oh my... wasn't Donna Summer something special!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

If you like multi character movies, this will not disapoint. The mainly unknown cast are all rather likeable folks. and Paul Jabara is very good in his only screen role. YOu will be touched by the scene of him and a lovley young girl who are locked in a stairway but end up boogooing anyway. I especially love the plot about the fat guy and the tall thin schoolteacher who are mismatched by a dating service. Except for a few drug scenes, this is a terrific family picture, too. And the best you will ever see Debra Winger on screen. She looks soft and pretty. The music is very good, strong voices and tunes, much better than the dance music of the last 20 years. Check out this movie for some good light entertainment.