Flashdance

The dance sequences are sexy and energetic, more than compensating for a love relationship in the film that is thoroughly illogical and wooden. [22 July 1983]

Glitz with no mind and lots of fancy visuals, edited with a pounding beat.

Watching Flashdance is pretty much like looking at MTV for 96 minutes. Virtually plotless, exceedingly thin on characterization and sociologically laughable, pic at least lives up to its title by offering an anthology of extraordinarily flashy dance numbers.

Cranked up at double speed, the plot of Flashdance could almost be a satirical fantasy about dance students. Although Flashdance doesn't admit it's a fantasy, neither does it succeed in looking realistic. [16 Apr 1983, p.E5]

If Flashdance had spent just a little more effort getting to know the heroine of its story, and a little less time trying to rip off "Saturday Night Fever," it might have been a much better film.

There's absolutely nothing to it, beyond Ms Beals cavorting in a leotard, lots of sheeny backgrounds courtesy of Lyne the former adman, and a Joe Eszterhas screenplay mixed through with cliché concentrate as female blue-collar worker proceeds from showgirl at a men's club to the big audition for the Pittsburgh ballet school. The star, it has to be said, is not at her most convincing as a welder (how does she afford an apartment the size of an aircraft hangar?), nor should we forget that most of the serious terpsichorean gymnastics were done by uncredited French dancer Marine Jahan.

Although the "story" is almost wholly without depth or plausibility, it's carried off with great style.

This is an iconic movie with its own signature style, look & moves. It’s a sweet story with bonus dance sequences. Besides Jennifer Beals‘ dance scenes, one of the most iconic moves she makes is taking her bra off through an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that forever chanced women’s fashion. Besides the dancing and the fashion, the simply love ties everything together to give you a fun, lighthearted story about a working-class girl who makes it big on the hopes of her dreams, the help of her lover, and her incredible talent.

An average dramatic screenplay becomes completely compelling thanks to superb editing choreography, cinematography, music and casting. Seminal stuff!

Why a few people believe that the story of a working-class bar dancer who wants to make her dream come true – by enrolling at a prestigious dance academy – is a 1980s classic is a complete mystery. If anything, its charm lies in the songs that would feature at school leavers’ balls and quinceañeras. Watch it purely out of curiosity.

Flashdance is neither good nor bad, that is if some performances shine and the soundtrack is phenomenal but as for the rest it is a bit and sometimes very disappointing

I saw this on TV many years after it came out in the....80's? Not good at all. All it did was promote ripped shirts and big hair and wild dancing everyone did for a good laugh.