Woodyanders The setting: a single wild and eventful Friday night at a popular disco club. A motley assortment of folks converge at this dynamic hot spot for a happily swinging good time: Said folks include a couple of teenage girls who are eager to make the scene, a married couple out on a date, the club's sleazy womanizing heel owner, a sweet gal looking for Mr. Right, a merry Mexican-American who lives for dancing, an aspiring singer trying to get her first major break, and a hot-tempered fat jerk. Director Robert Klane, working from a busy script by Armyan Bernstein, ably juggles a bunch of disparate narrative threads which crisscross in all kinds of witty and entertaining ways. Moreover, Klane and Bernstein astutely peg the gaudy threads, thumping insanely groovy music, anything-goes hedonism, uninhibited excessive drug use, and sense of pure live-for-the-moment fun which were hallmarks of the 70's disco craze in a breezy and snappy way. The lively acting from the attractive and appealing cast rates as a real substantial plus, with stand-out contributions by Jeff Goldblum as conceited smarmball ladies' man Tony Di Marco, Debra Winger as the uptight Jennifer, Terri Nunn as spunky teenager Jeannie, Valerie Landsburg as Jeannie's gawky pal Frannie, Chick Vennera as passionate dancer Marv Gomez, Ray Vitte as hip DJ Bobby Speed, Mark Lonow as stuffed shirt accountant Dave, Andrea Howard as Dave's easygoing wife Sue, Robin Menken as the sassy Maddy, John Friedrich as the nerdy Ken, Paul Jabara as the klutzy Carl, Mews Small as the kooky Jackie, and Donna Summer as the determined Nicole Simms. Among the highlights are Vennera's exciting and exuberant impromptu parking lot solo dance, Summer belting out the glorious Oscar-winning disco smash "Last Dance," and the delightfully energetic big dance contest. James Crabe's glittery cinematography gives the film an appropriately garish look while the throbbing disco soundtrack certainly hits the hoppin' spot. Best of all, there's a joy, vibrancy, and infectiously good-natured carefree sensibility evident throughout that's impossible to either resist or dislike. An immensely enjoyable 70's time capsule.

gftbiloxi 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

theeht 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.

perni I picked up a copy of this from Wal-Mart for like 4 bucks, thinking it would be yet another wonderfully horrible disco musical for me to cringe at and enjoy at the same time. Sadly, Thank God It's Friday is not nearly as loathsome as Can't Stop the Music, which set a bench mark for bad musicals that could only be reached by From Justin to Kelly. The story (such as it is here) follows about 500 characters as they dance the night away at a disco club called The Zoo (oh brother). The big event of the night is the dance contest, which doesn't occur until the movie's last few minutes and is not at all epic or exciting. I say the flick has about 500 characters because it literally does. There are so many people here that trying to invest any interest in them is pretty much impossible. Just when you're starting to figure out who certain characters are, the movie zips to the other side of the club and we meet a dozen or more new guys and gals. There's the two girls who want to win the contest so they can buy KISS tickets, the DJ who has to prove himself on his first night at the club, a budding singer who just needs a big break, an angry short fellah whose blind date is an insanely tall, shy woman, a dorky guy and a nice guy who are looking for love, a party gal and a nice gal who are looking for love, a woman who needs some fun in her life but is married to a complete stiff, a stud (played by JEFF GOLDBLUM, mind you) who makes bets with the DJ on who he can get back to his apartment, etc. etc. etc. Needless to say, the story is pretty much nonexistent, with a cameo by The Commodores barely registering on the Interesting Scale. The best part of the entire movie is when the girl who wants to be a singer, played by Donna Summers, sings the groovy hit The Last Dance. What surprised me is how the movie is rated PG but has a lot of cursing as well as drug use. I guess that back in the 70's this kind of material was seen as pretty tame. Also, the comedy struck me as being awfully cornball, and the running jokes were either stupid to begin with or made no sense at all (what is up with the Tarzan waiter, anyway?!). But, as I said before, this is a masterpiece when compared to garbage like Can't Stop the Music. Watchable, but still kind of stinky. 1.5/4 stars