Category: Musicals

Really Awful Movies: Ep 34 – Xanadu

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Xanadu!

A fantasy, a musical, a place where dreams come true…for some, it’s more of a nightmare and more of a Xana-don’t.

However, there is something undoubtedly charming about this Olivia Newton-John MEGA-flop, which co-stars the late great Gene Kelly and Warrior Michael Beck.

A roller-skating artist, who doesn’t know the meaning of the term “muse” (!) meets a sprite on the beach and tries to romance her. He seeks advice from a beach clarinet-playing dandy (!) who wants to open a nightclub with him.

Then things get weird.

Thanks to Robin Bougie of Cinema Sewer for the tip-off.

 

Really Awful Movies: Ep 30 – Rhinestone

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Can Dolly Parton turn this cabbie, Sly, into an overnight singing sensation?

Sylvester Stallone couldn’t hold a tune if you duct-taped one to his chest. Rhinestone is hilarious and the one film Sly wish he hadn’t made (but we’re glad he did).

An Indecent Proposal crossed with Hee Haw, Rhinestone is a total mess but lots of fun.

Stallone turned down the lead in Beverly Hills Cop as well as Romancing the Stone to appear in this “piece of poo poo.”

Dolly is “Jake,” a singing star in Midtown Manhattan who takes Sly (“Nick”) to Tennessee for a country music boot camp. There’s lots at stake: if she can’t deliver, she can’t get out of her contract and has to sleep with her manager (!?)

There are terrible stereotypes (Italians, Southerners), terrible songs, terrible performances…This is a must-see.

Rhinestone was directed by Bob Clark, who you may have come across if you are a long-time listener of the podcast. He was the brains behind Murder by Decree, an oft-referenced Jack the Ripper imagining starring Christopher Plummer, and indelible Canadian classics like Black Christmas, Porky’s and Porky’s II.

On the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we really love musicals, especially the bizarre ones. And Rhinestone certainly fits the bill.