it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Question from a previous comment: "Finally - did the 1970's discos really close at midnight? :-)"Well, yes, sort of. Most of the places I frequented in Tucson AZ during this time period had "last call" around 12:30 AM as they officially had to stop serving liquor by 1 AM. There were a few that stayed open until 2 AM but it was only soft drinks after 1 AM.This movie is a blast from my past and really brings back memories of hanging out at the dance clubs in the mid to late '70's. I never was into the drug scene and it was actually fairly discrete at most places so the movie is a reasonable representation of my Friday and Saturday nights during that era. The disco I frequented was called the "Fun Factory" and had all sorts of weird creatures as part of the decor. The dance floor was pretty small but it had flashing lights under it and the usual spotlights, strobes, mirror balls, etc. The had live bands and between sets they played long compilations of current hits on tape. They even occasionally had dance contests like in the movie!I still have my Heishi beads and necklaces that I wore to the clubs but I suspect the leisure suits and unisex flowery shirts have long since been donated to Goodwill.It was a great time to be in your 20's and I'm glad I got to experience it. In many ways the music was much better than today's and we had a lot of fun but didn't get into too much trouble. Every time I hear a Donna Summer song, It causes a flashback to that "fabulous" era. ;-)

This film was hugely disappointing, with only a few redeeming features (which I'll mention last). I usually enjoy silly disco-era films, and was hoping this would at least be amusing in a Can't Stop The Music way, but this was hopeless. At least Can't Stop The Music let you enjoy the music. In TGIF, snippets of dozens of disco tracks are heard in the background while various characters chatter away in one unfunny scene after another, like a particularly lame and crowded episode of The Love Boat. Though this is set in a disco, the film seems uninterested in any of the dancing, even during the dancing competition finale everyone's been talking about during the rest of the film. The one exception would be the awkward and not very disco dancing-on-the-tops-of-cars scene. It's hard to think of many ways the production or direction of this film could have been worse.HOWEVER, this has some nostalgia value for being set almost entirely in a 70's disco. AND, when Donna Summer sings Last Dance the film finally has a few minutes of glitzy fun. For the one and only time, the music gets all the attention. It's a great song, and Donna looks and sounds like what you'd expect from a disco diva - love the big hair.

THANK GOD IT'S Friday needs to be reissued in Dolby digital and promoted like the GREASE 20th anniversary was in 1998. TGIF is a very funny film with an very recognizable cast - Jeff Goldblum even still looks the same! Does he have a painting in a cupboard getting old instead? Debra Winger, (the late great) Paul Jabara and Donna Summer and all those brown clothes and hideous cars! It was released with 4 track magnetic sound in 1978 and became quite a hit with all us flared up dance pants disco moviegoers. It is not Paul Jabara's only film appearance, he turns up in drag in DAY OF THE LOCUST the dark and scary look at 30s Hollywood. There is a place for this film in 2005 and I hope Columbia see the value. They also have a lot of other great music/concert films of the 70s that deserve another cinema reissue because of the sensational music content: WATTSTAX, FILLMORE and maybe the Fox doco CONCERT AT BIG SUR. If THE LAST WALTZ and GREASE can get out again to new audiences, so deserves TGIF and those others mentioned above. It is a very entertaining musical for lots more reasons than in 1978. The world of 1978 is almost enough alone.

.....DONNA SUMMER.All Donna Summers scenes are great and funny. If you get a chance take a look at her FEET, she has the biggest feet I have seen on a woman. Maybe her shoes were to small or something but it's hilarious.Donna steals the show when she sings the CLASSIC song "Last Dance" and leaves the Commadores looking a little flat.One other moment in the movie is when Donna breaks into the DJ box and trys to sing on the microphone over the track playing. The song is another classic of hers "Love To Love You Baby".Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger and "Doris" from Fame are also thrown in the mix.Definitive Disco Nostalgia