Epic Crap Sunday

I caught the movie Xanadu on cable this morning. This 1980 flick puts roller skating, Greek mythology, young love, neon "special" effects, bad choreography, and even worse music into a sunny Southern California fantasy. It was a massive bomb at the box office, and according to IMDB, one reviewer summed up the movie by stating, "In a word, Xana-don't." It "won" the inaugural Razzie award for worst director (Robert Greenwald) , and was nominated in six other worst-of categories. In the Official Razzie Movie Guide, it is listed as one of the "Top Ten Best Bad Films." Needless to say, it was so bad that I couldn't stop watching it.

The Xanadu soundtrack, however, was a huge success selling over two million copies worldwide. Olivia Newton-John's song "Magic" spent four weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot 100. The album itself was in the top five in the US and UK, and number one in Newton-John's homeland of Australia. But let's be real here folks, the music isn't much better than the movie. Most of it is fluffy, harmless pop, almost all performed by either Newton-John, or Electric Light Orchestra, culminating in the ONJ/ELO duet at the end.

Check out this clip from the penultimate scene of the movie. I feel badly for Gene Kelly. Incidentally, this was Kelly's last movie. He only took the roll because the filming location was close to his home, and he wouldn't have to be away from his family during the filming process.

Epic crap!


Xanadu.mp3
Buy: Xanadu Soundtrack (1980)

Buy: Xanadu - Magical Musical Edition (With Complete Soundtrack CD, 2008)
Deluxe edition includes a "Going Back to Xanadu" feature, the film's theatrical trailer, and a photo gallery. Plus, bonus music that was originally omitted from the soundtrack. Whoo-Hoo! Seriously, its only $14.99 (US). I may have to pick this one up!