Thank God It's Friday
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| Thank God It's Friday | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Klane |
| Produced by | Neil Bogart (executive producer) Rob Cohen Phillip M. Goldfarb |
| Written by | Armyan Bernstein |
| Starring | Jeff Goldblum Debra Winger |
| Music by | Giorgio Moroder Paul Jabara (song "Last Dance") |
| Cinematography | James Crabe |
| Editing by | Richard Halsey |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 19, 1978 |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,200,000 USD (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
- For other meanings see TGIF.
- For the 1978 disco song, see Thank God It's Friday (song).
- For the 1996 R.Kelly song, see Thank God It's Friday (R.Kelly song).
Thank God It's Friday is a 1978 film directed by Robert Klane and produced by Motown Productions and Casablanca Filmworks for Columbia Pictures. 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. The film features an early performance by Jeff Goldblum and the first major screen appearance by Debra Winger.
Contents |
[edit] 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 inordinantly 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.
- 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. 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. 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.
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was originally issued as a 3 record set in 1978. An edited CD came out in 1995 on the budget label Rebound records. A digitally remastered version of the full soundtrack on a 2 disc set was released on Polygram records on March 25,1997.
1. Thank God It's Friday - Love And Kisses
2. After Dark - Pattie Brooks
3. With Your Love - Donna Summer
4. Last Dance - Donna Summer
5. Disco Queen - Paul Jabara
6. Find My Way - Cameo
7. Too Hot Ta Trot - The Commodores
8. Leatherman's Theme - Wright Bros. Flying Machine
9. I Wanna Dance - Marathon
10. Take It To The Zoo - Sunshine
11. Sevilla Nights - Santa Esmeralda
12. You're The Most Precious Thing In My Life - Love And Kisses
13. Do You Want The Real Thing - D.C. Larue
14. Trapped In A Stairway - Paul Jabara
15. Floyd's Theme - Natural Juices
16. Lovin', Livin' And Givin' - Diana Ross
17. Love Masterpiece - Thelma Houston
18. Last Dance (Reprise) - Donna Summer
19. Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus) - Donna Summer
Find My Way was originally issued as a 7" single in 1975. Too hot Ta Trot was from the Commodore's album Commodores Live! Other tracks on the soundtrack, including Last Dance,were recorded for the film. Among the songs heard in the movie but not issued on the soundtrack album are Alec R. Costandinos’s Romeo and Juliet, Giorgio Moroder's From Here to Eternity and The Commodores Brick House.
[edit] DVD release
Thank God It's Friday was released on Region 1 DVD on April 4, 2006.
[edit] Trivia
- The real nightclub used for the film was Osko's on La Cienega Blvd, just south of 3rd Street in Los Angeles. The club had 4 dance floors and 'the Cave', an ice cavern-themed room as seen in the film. The ice cavern-themed room also appears in the horror film Jennifer (1977). Club owner Osko Karaghassian had a role as a bouncer in the film. Osko's nightclub was completely demolished by the mid 1980s and was replaced by a large Loehmann's dress store.
- Thank God It's Friday was the film playing in the drive-in theatre scene of the 1983 Stephen King thriller Christine.
- The bus used in the film read "65 Ashby Avenue". Ashby Avenue is in Berkeley, California, which means that the bus used was a retired coach from AC Transit (whose route 65 is part of the transit system's route lineup) and not a SCRTD vehicle.
- Columbia Pictures' "Lady with the torch" dances to disco music before the opening credits.
