What else would explain why the film seemed oddly dated in 1980 (By that point the disco craze was a distant memory as New Wave had taken over by that point as the big musical force.)
shareYes, it did seem strangely dated in 1980. This would have been a bigger hit if it was released in 1977, the year of "Saturday Night Fever." I suspect that it was filmed over the course of a few years to accommodate the lavish production numbers and the Village People's touring schedule.
shareIt was shot in the summer of 1979,when the VP had their biggest hit-YMCA.
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Don't know what planet you were on in 1980, but disco was far from a distant memory. It had reigned supreme for 5 years at that point--1980 started with Dan Hartmann's disco classic "Relight My Fire" at the top of the dance charts--and only just started to wane that year.
CSTM seems dated because it's so inane, like a hyper-bad 70s sitcom. The stupidity of it made it seem like something from another world even then, which is why it was a mega-flop.
lol. You are partially right. Disco wasn't "dated" at all at the time. 1980 was when the disco classic "Funky Town" was number ONE on the charts.
CSTM was a lot of fun. YES, it's camp, and if people weren't scared off by the (OMG this is GAY) connection -it would have been a big hit. THAT was the reason it was a big flop. Despite the fact that Village People were huge, it wasn't apparent to the mainstream that the MAJORITY of their songs were about gay liberation. Once people figured it out (thanks to everything from 60 Minutes to Dunesbury) they tended to try to distance themselves from it.
Even in the five-episode miniseries of Dallas (1978, I believe) Pam and Bobby went to a disco. It was still around by 1980, as was roller skating. Check out Roller Boogie with Linda Blair too if you like this era -- good music from it on my iPod for the gym.
shareI remember the era and can say that by 1980, disco had pretty much become a dirty word. There was a huge backlash against it which peaked with that "Disco Sucks" rally held in Comiskey Park in Chicago the previous summer. Then radio stations started advertising "Bee Gee Free" weekends, where they promised not to play any music by that group.
shareYes, "disco" did become a dirty word during 1980 and after this movie was filmed. However, disco music never went away -- it just became known as "dance."
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