Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!
54 captures the hedonistic excess of Studio 54 and the late-70s disco era with reasonable visual flair, but the film suffers from a weak, episodic plot that never coheres into a compelling narrative. Ryan Phillippe's lead performance is bland and the supporting cast is underused, with Mike Myers' Steve Rubell being the most memorable but still uneven turn. The cinematography and production design recreate the glittery excess of the era competently. The film's setting and subject matter give it some distinctiveness — Studio 54 as a backdrop is inherently compelling — but the execution is formulaic and the studio-mandated cut neutered much of the edgier content. The ending feels rushed and moralistic without earning its emotional payoff.