- For other uses, see Thank God It's
Friday
Thank God It's Friday is a 1978
film directed by Robert Klane and produced by
Motown Productions and Casablanca
Filmworks for
Columbia Pictures
(whose "Torch Lady", in a specially-produced logo, dances to disco
music before the opening credits). Produced at the height of the
disco craze, the film features
The Commodores performing "Too Hot to Trot",
and
Donna Summer performing "
Last Dance" which won the
Academy Award for Best Song in
1979. The film features an early performance by
Jeff Goldblum and the first major screen
appearance by
Debra Winger.
Summary
Thank
God It's Friday tells several intertwining stories of the
patrons and staff of the fictional Los Angeles
club The Zoo. These include:
- Tony Di Marco (Jeff
Goldblum) - owner of The Zoo. Lecherous and promiscuous, he's
inordinately fond of his car.
- Bobby Speed (Ray Vitte) - the club's DJ, who's broadcasting his first live show from the
club.
- Frannie (Valerie
Landsburg) and Jeannie (Terri Nunn) - two high school friends who want to
win The Zoo's dance contest to buy KISS
concert tickets.
- Carl (Paul Jabara)
and Ken (John Friedrich) - hopelessly near-sighted
shlub looking for a casual liaison, and his friend looking for a
girlfriend.
- Dave (Mark Lonow) and Sue
(Andrea Howard) - a young married couple celebrating their
anniversary.
- Jackie (Mews Small) - dental hygienist by day,
drugged-out disco freak by night.
- Jennifer (Debra
Winger) and Maddy (Robin Menken) - the new
girl in town taken to the disco by her know-it-all friend who's not
as sophisticated as she thinks she is.
- Nicole Sims (Donna
Summer) - an aspiring disco singer.
- Marv Gomez (Chick Vennera) - a self-described
"leatherman" who lives to dance.
- Malcolm Floyd (DeWayne Jessie) - the roadie for The
Commodores, responsible for delivering their instruments to the
club by midnight.
- Gus (Chuck Sacci) and Shirley
(Hilary Beane) - mismatched blind computer daters.
Sue insists her uptight accountant husband Dave take her to the
disco. On a bet with Bobby, Tony tries to pick up Sue. Dave is
drugged and re-named "Babbakazoo" by Jackie, and makes a fool of
himself. Carl gets himself locked in a secured stairwell. Frannie
and Jeannie finally manage to sneak in to the disco after several
failed attempts. Jennifer tries to meet a guy, but Maddy vetoes
each of the guys Jennifer is attracted to. Marv teaches Ken how to
dance. Nicole tries desperately to slip into the DJ booth to get
Bobby to play her single. Garbage collector Gus is horrified to
learn that the dating service has matched him with a college
educated women, and one who is taller than he is. Frannie, after
tricking Marv's dance partner into the locked stairwell, enters the
big dance contest with Marv. Floyd gets stopped repeatedly by the
police on suspicion of stealing The Commodores' instruments.
By the end, Maddy ditches Jennifer to attend a hot tub party (with
the same guys who came on to Jennifer). Floyd makes it to the club
in time for the Commodores to play. But just before they go on,
Nicole sneaks up on stage and scores a huge triumph singing
Last Dance. Dave comes
down and Sue ditches Tony. Carl and Marv's former partner hook up
in the stairwell. Jennifer and Ken share the last dance (as do
Nicole and Bobby). Gus and Shirley decide to give it a try. Tony's
car, having taken innumerable hits from pretty much every other
character's car, falls apart in the parking lot. And Marv and
Frannie win the big dance contest. Deciding that the KISS concert
is "kid stuff," Frannie and Jeannie, now self-proclaimed "disco
queens," go with Marv to hit another disco for the 1 AM dance
contest.
Soundtrack
For further information, see
Thank God It's
Friday
DVD release
Thank God It's Friday was released on
Region 1 DVD on
April 4,
2006.
Critical response
In his annual
Movie
Guide, film critic
Leonard
Maltin rated this film as "BOMB". He wrote that it is "perhaps
the worst film ever to have won some kind of
Academy Award (for Summer's hit song,
Last Dance).
See also
- Other films of the late 1970s during the disco craze:
References
External links