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Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Eigeman, Matt Keeslar, Mackenzie Astin ... see more see more... , Matthew Ross , Tara Subkoff , Burr Steers , David Thornton , Jaid Barrymore , Michael Weatherly , Robert Sean Leonard , Jennifer Beals , Carlos Jacott , Edoardo Ballerini , Chris Eigeman

As another installment of Whit Stillman's trilogy, The Last Days of Disco fits chronologically between Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994), with several cameos overlapping and linking the films. ... read more read more...During "the very early 1980s," friends gather at a popular Manhattan disco club reminiscent of Studio 54, where getting past the velvet ropes and inside was the first step. Edgy ad-exec Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) can sometimes get his clients in with the help of the club's womanizing assistant manager, his pal Des (Chris Eigeman), who lets them enter via the rear door. Beautiful brunette Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and her former college classmate Alice (Chloe Sevigny) move about the club during the 24-minute opening club sequence. Attorney Tom (Robert Sean Leonard) takes an interest in calm, reserved Alice. Both Alice and the opinionated, assertive Charlotte hold day jobs as entry-level editorial associates at a small book publisher. With Holly (Tara Subkoff) as a third roommate, the trio rents a railroad flat in the Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood. Charlotte throws dinner parties in an effort to solidify a social circle as an alternative to "the ferocious pairing off" around her. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Flixster Users

59% liked it

5,685 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

55 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Whit Stillman

Release Date: May 29, 1998

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DVD Release Date: December 8, 1998

Stats: 271 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (271)

  • flixsterman
    January 12, 2012
    flixsterman
    Whit Stillman's subtle but profound take on the fallacy of indulgent self importance. Don't let the title put you off, The Last Days of Disco is an underrated gem!
  • bbcfloridabound
    March 21, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    This Movie is from Criterion Collection, most movies from this collection are pretty good, but this one is not. It Sucks. Its about the Eighties Time Frame, and shows the lives of a number of people throughout the Movie. To me the movie made little sense, and had about every disc... read moreo song in it. 1 1/2 stars for effort.
  • gator681
    September 12, 2010
    gator681
    In "The Last Days of Disco," Alice(Chloe Sevigny) and Charlotte(Kate Beckinsale) are two comely editorial assistants who are admitted into a trendy club every night on looks alone. Des(Chris Eigeman), a manager at the club, is under pressure not to admit Jimmy(Mackenzie Astin) b... read moreecause he is in advertising and therefore scum. Des also thinks he is gay after watching an episode of Wild Kingdom.(Not "Animal Kingdom" which I'll be reviewing next.) Regardless, Josh(Matt Keeslar, of "The Middleman"), an ADA, thinks the whole scene is cool. At the end of the night, Alice goes home with Tom(Robert Sean Leonard).

    Writer-director-producer Whit Stillman tries in vain with "The Last Days of Disco" to have something intelligent to say about the transition stage from college to first job, as these characters are in the process of moving on from friends they barely like to spouses they tolerate just enough to not kill them in their sleep. The movie is set in the waning days of disco, a party that was about to end for all.(By the way, we make fun of John Travolta for all the bad movies he has made while Olivia Newton-John is still cool because she has been on "Glee" twice.) I could have tolerated the movie's sour tone if it had not been so excessively talky on every single subject under the sun and there had been more of a plot which sneaks in just under the wire.
  • threefolddado
    March 4, 2008
    threefolddado
    Unappreciated.
  • kingmob6
    January 10, 2012
    kingmob6
    I really loved giving this one a re-watch, since I hadn't seen it since the VHS days. Vintage Kate Beckinsale, what's not to love? Set around a disco club during the last gasp of the genre, as a group of friends connect and disconnect in their early '20s.

    Whit Stillman paints ... read morea great portrait of the times and the city, making me want to search out other films from the era.

    Recommended.
  • TonyPolito
    August 16, 2010
    TonyPolito
    A glittery Studio54ish venue is mere backdrop for this sly satire of overly-self-absorbed, 20-something preppies/yuppies, wet behind the ears from their elite private college experiences, doing Manhattan in 1980.

    Don't expect "54" or "Saturday Night Fever" nostalgia; this film'... read mores actually closer in spirit to "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985) and Lisa Birnbach's "Official Preppy Handbook."

    Everyone's snagged status-y entry-level day jobs they think is their due - Madison Avenue, the DA's office, working through publishing house sludge piles. But even as they VIP their way into the club (of course) and strut their stuff to Chic and Donna Summer - they're clearly confused that suddenly there's no more signage pointing the way toward the privilege and elitism they believe they are owed.

    The film moves almost entirely upon very sly dialogue that subtly reveals just how unsure these under-educated, over-degreed, blossoming elitists are of themselves, even as they outwardly (and sometimes cruelly) jockey among themselves for higher social status and upward mobility. It's not just disco that's passing away - but the naivete these manor-borns possess about their own superiority and self-importance - while the realities of work, romance, sex and every-day life slowly tighten a grip around them.

    Criterion resto.

    The film's probably way too slow, too talky and too plot-less for many viewers to enjoy. Still, it should peak some interest with younger viewers who'll grasp a better understanding of the historical psychology/perspective of those elitists that now captain industry and finance.

    The soundtrack's a real throwback to my own nights at "Disco Depot," where I sported an unbuttoned peach-ruffled formal shirt and my lady twirled hot around me, dressed in her sexy peach Danskins and matching peach wrap-around skirt. It's not all of the best of disco, but almost every tune here took heavy rotation in its day.

    RECOMMENDATION: Smartly and cleverly captures the personas of the time well. Well spent viewing.
  • Darcy9Saleen
    April 23, 2010
    Darcy9Saleen
    It wasn't all that bad. I just loved the fact that the guy that plays Wilson on House was in it and the guy who plays Tony on NCIS was in it as well. Sure they have small parts but it was the best parts for me.
  • justindavis1
    May 28, 2009
    justindavis1
    This is a late at night cable TV type of movie. It's watchable. It's not a great movie but it's sort of fun if you're in the mood. It's also somewhat better than I thought it would be.
  • Wileoese
    April 21, 2009
    Wileoese
    A good movie about an exclusive disco back in the day. There is a lot of dialog. It is the only place I heard similar thoughts to my own on"Lady and the Tramp" and "be true to thine self"
  • SonnyLighstrome
    November 29, 2007
    SonnyLighstrome
    This is a good movie that depicts the change from the "Get Down and Party" 70s to the uptight and Responsible 80s probably the best out of any movie I've seen. Great performances all around and REALLY good dialogue.

View All The Last Days of Disco Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Sharp-eyed and charming. Full Review

Laura Miller
January 1, 2000
Laura Miller, Salon.com

The pleasures in The Last Days of Disco come when the friends rant and quarrel and sulk and circle each other with an unstable mixture of need and resentment. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

In spite of itself -- in spite of Stillman -- this is a lively and often endearing entertainment. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

[Stillman] nails his characters with perfectly heard dialogue and laconic satire. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

In its last hour, the picture becomes more clumsy and tiresome, but the stray laugh and the disco sound keep it pulsing. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The combination of sharply-realized dialogue and infectiously energetic dance sequences keeps The Last Days of Disco from losing steam. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

If this film ... doesn't fully rise to the lovely vibrancy of Barcelona, it still extends the witty, quizzical style of Stillman's social comedies onto inviting new terrain. Full Review

Tim Brayton
April 23, 2012
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

If it had been Stillman's swan song, a director could hardly hope to be prouder of such a strong exit. Full Review

Christopher Long
January 29, 2010
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis

Stillman skips the snark in favor of a sincere appreciation of his slightly lost characters. Full Review

James Kendrick
October 13, 2009
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

Stilillman pulls off a unique balancing act of conveying the specificities of the cultural milieu but also maintaining a sense of universality that keeps the film from being solely about its time and ... Full Review

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