In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a crappy (but FABULOUS) film decree... Okay, alright, fine... This is an awful movie. Olivia sings and skates and skates and sings, and poor Gene Kelly dances himself just short of a stroke, but they still perk-up THIS steaming pile!
Perhaps a great leading man could have salvaged this trainwreck, but poor Xanadu had only Michael Beck. I guess after they paid Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, they could only afford Beck. He got even tho, by giving them their money's worth (zero).
So why, knowing how bad Xanadu is, and how much better a 5 gallon bucket of roquefort cheese would smell compared to this post-disco extravaganza, do I sit thru it start to finish at least 3-4 times a year?
Simple: It's got a fun soundtrack! There's a fabulous retro nightclub! There are nifty dance sequences! Gene Kelly dances and sings like the pro he is (was)! Olivia Newton-John sings while wearing a huge headdress that Lucy couldn't begin to handle...
The crown jewel of the film (prior to the climax) is a tremendously staged sequence of 40's dancers and a Patti, Maxine, and Laverne vocal group (courtesy of harmonized recordings of ONJ) and a frisky Tubes' tune, complete with Solid Gold Dancers, coming together in a mix of music, dancers and symbolism. It's a real "feel-good" sequence, don't miss it!
The true climax comes about 20 minutes later, wrapping up the unrequited love between Michael Beck and ONJ, and features Gene Kelly on roller skates, and about 40 roller disco-dancers, various circus performers, and finally Olivia Newton-John singing the big finale version of the title theme: "Xanadu".
Okay, as you've probably already surmised: you won't truly love this blacksheep of a film unless you're a gay man. We love overly dramatic scenes, catchy tunes, big openings and Disco-Diva's in fabulous hats and gowns. While Xanadu hasn't much of a story, it does have all of the above. In spades.
So for about 80 minutes, be gay: Give in, hum along, tap your foot, clap-stomp-and-cross-your-arms-in-an-"X" during the roller-skating sequence... It makes the movie go faster, and makes you forget the 55 minutes of bad movie you had to sit through to catch about 25 minutes of good music and dancing! Those 25 minutes, brief as they are, are worth it!