TGIF (1978) Movie Drinking Game
Down a Shot: for every ding to Tony ‘will steal your wife’ Dimarco’s swanky car.
Down a Shot: for every time Wrong Way Floyd gets pulled over by a copper. His interactions with the cops wouldn’t have been ok in today’s current PC atmosphere as they’re mostly played for laughs and stray away from the reality of a serious situation.
Down a Shot: for every time Nicole Sims breaks into the DJ’s chambers for her big break, only to get rejected!
By: Vidal D’Costa (Two Beers) –
It’s a hectic night at the Zoo, only the hottest night club/discotheque in town which also doubles as a jewelry store. There’s a dance contest to be held, but the band is out of instruments & the DJ Bobby Speed (Ray Vitte) is worried out of his mind. The instruments are on their way, but are being held up because the man driving them to the club is incompetent as fuck (his name- Wrong Way Floyd- is a dead giveaway).
At the same time, a couple’s marriage might be on the rocks, thanks to a hubby who’s too whiney & won’t lose himself to the disco & a fun-loving wife who may/may not be falling for the club’s very self-involved, posh, & womanizing owner, Tony ‘will steal your wife’ Dimarco (played by Jeff ‘will steal your wife’ Goldblum). Other interesting characters include two horny boys looking for some action & two underage girls who are looking to catch their big break at the dance contest but will first have to break into the club.
A Toast
The only characters I cared for & the subplots I truly enjoyed watching are the ones I mentioned at the start of this review since the characters themselves were rather interesting on their own & one of the characters was played by jive cat Jeff Goldblum (that man could carry a movie on charm alone).
TGIF more than makes up for its flaws by including scenes like the ‘parking lot dance scene’ featuring yet another of my favourite characters in this movie, Marv Gomez AKA Leather Man (whose only defining characteristics are that he can dance fabulously enough to save his life & his undying faith in the lady-attracting power of leather clothing). This scene in particular is exceptionally well-choreographed & a treat to watch.
Another highlight is the climactic dance contest & the whiney husband Dave’s antics during his accidental acid trip which had me in splits. The running gag of the customers dinging the hell out of poor Tony’s snazzy car was also well-executed. Same goes for the running gags of the DJ threatening Wrong Way Floyd (DeWayne Jessie) over the radio, the DJ getting threatened over the radio by his boss, & Wrong Way Floyd getting pulled over for speeding countless times, only to win the police & public over in the end with his musical ability.
Another plus point is Donna Summers’ character Nicole Sims (that’s S-I-M-S), who is a singer-songstress introduced to the viewers through a lovely silent scene at the start where she’s window-shopping for a dress before she heads on over to the discotheque to play her demo tape & catch her big break. I was kinda bummed out by how little screen time she received, considering she’s one of the saving graces of this movie. Fun fact: the track “Last Song” sung by her during the climax nabbed this movie an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Beer Two
Thank God it’s Friday (or TGIF , as the kids would call it now) is one of those flicks which only existed to cash in on the disco-loving, strobe light-crazy era of the 70s & it definitely shows. Although it’s fun & funny in parts, it suffers mainly due to how its many subplots are just crammed in & not allowed to breathe, much like a person visiting a claustrophobic, strobe light-laden, over-the-top discotheque for the first time.
Not all of them are interesting or go anywhere or even gel well together & I was also highly disappointed that Jennifer (Debra Winger) & Maddie ( Robin Menken), the two best friends, didn’t decide to have a lesbian fling in the end, despite all the chemistry they shared.
The short-tempered insecure guy whose only purpose in this movie is to be unpleasant to his date just because of their height differences could’ve been done away with as he’s plain annoying (although I could rewind the scene where his date rightfully so knocks him out with her mean right hook countless times for the laughs alone).
Verdict
While no-one would win any Oscars in the acting department since some of the acting is pretty decent at best & the two most accomplished performers in this (Jeff Goldblum & Donna Summers respectively) are merely there for eye candy and in barely enough scenes, TGIF is still mandatory Friday-night viewing if all you crave is a movie whose only purpose is to unabashedly promote disco & the fervour & chaos that disco is responsible for. In the end, it’s quite entertaining and enjoyable, if not as entertaining or as enjoyable as other dance and disco flicks that came out during this era.
