The Last Days of Disco is a movie from 1998 starring Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale (in one of her early US roles), Chris Elgeman, Michael Weatherly (in one of his first major roles), Jennifer Beals, Jaid Barrymore (Drew's mother) and Robert Sean Leonard. It is based loosely on the demise of Studio 54. To the extent that there is a larger plot, it revolves around a group of twenty-somethings that work and/or hang out at an exclusive NY club in the early 1980s. Like the real Studio 54, the club is being investigated by the police and is ultimately raided.
Reviews for the movie tend to be all over the place. Some people love it, and some absolutely hate it. I am pretty neutral toward the movie. To me, the problem with the movie is that it tries to base the story too much around the characters that frequent the club and their lives. The problem is that none of the characters do much of anything or are all that interesting or likable. They mainly sit and talk, go to the club, then talk some more, go back to the club, hook up, then talk more. I think the movie would have been better if the focus was on the illegal activity at the club (and had more characters involved in the crime and/or investigation) as opposed to being focused on characters that were going to a club where shady shit was going down.
The original DVD release is very light on extras (to say the least). The only bonus feature is the movie's trailer. If you get the Criterion Collection release, there are a lot more extras, including a commentary track on the movie and deleted scenes. Ultimately, the movie was okay, but it could have been better. It featured a group of talented actors (most of whom were still relatively young at the time), but it did not give them great material to work with, and as a result, the movie just seemed to lag. To me, it is the kind of movie you can have on in the background while you are doing other things and still know everything about it. It is certainly not the worst movie of all time, but on the other hand, you are not missing much if you skip it.
