Can't Stop the Music

Songwriter Jack Morell (a reference to Village People creator Jacques Morali) quits his job at a local record store after countless insults and demands by his tough-minded boss and gets a break DJing at local disco Saddle Tramps. His roommate Samantha "Sam" Simpson, a supermodel newly retired at the peak of her success, attends the disco one night. While avoiding advances from the sleazy owner Benny Murray, she sees the crowd's response to a song that he composed for her ("Samantha") and agrees to help him obtain a record deal. Her ex-boyfriend Steve Waits, president of Marrakech Records (a reference to Village People record label Casablanca Records), is more interested in rekindling their romantic relationship than in Jack's music (and more interested in taking business calls than in wooing Samantha), but agrees to listen to a demo.

Deeming Jack's vocals inadequate, Sam recruits neighbor and Saddle Tramps waiter/go-go boy Felipe Rose (the Indian), fellow model David "Scar" Hodo{{cite web|newspaper=The New Zealand Herald|title=Busy group Y M C Aching|author=Purdie, Ross|date=September 25, 2012|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/busy-group-y-m-c-aching/VVRZUMRERGY7SLLDYBCDNAYBHA/}} (the construction worker, who daydreams of stardom in the solo number "I Love You to Death"), and Randy Jones (the cowboy) on the streets of Greenwich Village, offering dinner in return for their participation. Meanwhile, Sam's former agent Sydney Channing orders her long-suffering personal assistant, Girl Friday Lulu Brecht, to attend, hoping to lure back the star. Ron White, a lawyer from St. Louis, is mugged by an elderly woman en route to deliver a cake that Sam's sister sent and arrives disconcerted. Brecht gives Jack drugs, which unnerves him when her friend, fellow model and dancer Alicia Edwards, brings singing cop Ray Simpson (the policeman), but Jack records the quartet on "Magic Night". Ron, pawed all night by the man-hungry Brecht, is overwhelmed by the culture shock of it all and leaves.

The next day, Sam encounters Ron, who apologizes, proffers the excuse that he is a Gemini and follows her home. After Sam unintentionally causes Ron to spill leftover lasagna on himself, she and Jack help him remove his trousers; after Jack departs, Sam and Ron spend the night together. Newly interested in helping, Ron offers his Wall Street office to hold auditions. There, Glenn M. Hughes (the leatherman) performs "Danny Boy" atop a piano; he and Alex Briley (the G.I.), a stagehand at a theater where Alicia works, join the group, now a sextet. They get their name from an offhand remark by Ron's socialite mother Norma. Ron's boss, Richard Montgomery, overwhelmed by the carnival atmosphere, insists that the firm not represent the group, and Ron quits.

Ron suggests a new location for rehearsal space at the YMCA (the ensuing production number features its athletic denizens in various states of undress). That evening, the group cuts a demo ("Liberation") for Marrakech, but Steve sees limited appeal and Sam refuses his paltry contract. Reluctant to use her own savings, they decide to self-finance by throwing a pay-party.

To bankroll the party, Sam acquiesces to Channing's plea to return for a TV advertising campaign for milk, provided the Village People are featured. The lavish number "Milkshake" begins as Sam pours milk for six little boys in the archetypal costumes with the promise that they will grow up to be the Village People. The advertisers reject the concept and refuse to broadcast the spot. Norma then invites the group to debut at her charity fundraiser in San Francisco. Sam lures Steve by promising a romantic weekend, but the inference that she would proceed with the seduction takes Ron aback, and Sam ends their romantic relationship. On his private jet, Steve prepares for a tryst, but rather Jack and his former chorus girl mother Helen arrive to negotiate a contract. Initially reluctant, Helen charms Steve with her kreplach, and eventually they are negotiating the T-shirt merchandising for the Japanese market.

In San Francisco, in the dressing room before the show, Ron, relieved that Sam did not travel or have sexual intercourse with Steve, proposes to her. Montgomery appears, seeking to rehire Ron as a junior partner representing the group. Following a set by The Ritchie Family ("Give Me a Break"), the Village People triumphantly debut before a cheering crowd ("Can't Stop the Music").

{{div col}}

• Steve Guttenberg as Jack Morell
• Valerie Perrine as Samantha "Sam" Simpson
• Caitlyn Jenner{{efn|name=a}} as Ron White
• Paul Sand as Steve Waits
• Tammy Grimes as Sydney Channing
• Village People:
• Alex Briley as Alex the G.I.
• David Hodo as David the Construction Worker
• Glenn Hughes as Glenn the Leatherman
• Randy Jones as Randy the Cowboy
• Felipe Rose as Felipe the Indian
• Ray Simpson as Ray the Policeman
• June Havoc as Helen Morell
• Barbara Rush as Norma White
• Altovise Davis as Alicia Edwards
• Marilyn Sokol as Lulu Brecht
• Russell Nype as Richard Montgomery
• Jack Weston as Benny Murray
• Leigh Taylor-Young as Claudia Walters
• Dick Patterson as the Record store manager

{{div col end}}

Originally titled Discoland... Where the Music Never Ends,{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/chatter-vol-12-no-18/|title=Chatter|author=People Staff|archivedate=March 30, 2022|date=October 29, 1979|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330033621/https://people.com/archive/chatter-vol-12-no-18/|magazine=People}} Can't Stop the Music was a fictionalized account of the formation of the Village People.{{cite news|first=Clarke|last=Taylor|title=The People's Movie Moves the Village|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 9, 1979|page=L 29}} Allan Carr announced the film in June 1979, describing it as "Singing in the Rain for the disco crowd" and stating that the film would star the Village People, Valerie Perrine, Tammy Grimes, Chita Rivera, Barbara Rush, Pat Ast and Bruce Jenner.{{efn|name=a}} It was to be the first in a three picture slate from Carr, the others including Chicago and The Josephine Baker Story starring Diana Ross. Filming was to start on August 20 of that year{{cite news|first=Charles|last=Schreger|title=Film Clips: Hollywood's Party Champion Defends His Crown|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 11, 1979|page=E 10}} and was financed by EMI, then under the aegis of Barry Spikings. When asked why EMI were making a film about disco so long after Saturday Night Fever, Spikings said, "I hope it is different. The film breaks new ground."{{cite news|title=The Man Who Came to Film|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 July 1979|page=10}}

The film's director, Nancy Walker, a theater, film, and television star since the 1940s, had been nominated for two Tony Awards, four Golden Globe Awards,{{cite web | title=Nancy Walker | url=http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/biography.asp?CTR=84544 | work=Artist Biography | publisher=Barnes and Noble | location=New York City | access-date=May 9, 2009 | archive-date=June 6, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606041837/http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/biography.asp?CTR=84544 | url-status=dead }} and eight Emmy Awards.{{cite web | title=Nancy Walker Biography | url=http://www.biography.com/articles/Walker-Nancy-222427 | publisher=A&E Television Networks/Biography.com | year=2007 | access-date=2009-05-09 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610130322/http://www.biography.com/articles/Walker-Nancy-222427 | archive-date=June 10, 2011 | df=mdy-all }} Walker had guest starred as Rhoda's mother Ida Morgenstern in several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and continued that role in its spin-off Rhoda. After establishing the character, Walker directed some episodes of both series, along with episodes of other sitcoms. Can't Stop the Music was her lone effort at theatrical film direction.{{cite web|publisher=Masterworks Broadway|title=Nancy Walker|url=https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/nancy-walker/}}

The film's supporting cast includes Tammy Grimes, Russell Nype, June Havoc, Altovise Davis, Jack Weston and Leigh Taylor-Young. Chita Rivera and Pat Ast were initially cast but dropped out of the film's production.

Can't Stop the Music was Caitlyn Jenner's film debut (as Bruce Jenner), after becoming famous for three world record-setting performances in the Decathlon, and a Gold medal win at the 1976 Olympic Games. Jenner's record stood from 1975 until shortly before this film's 1980 release. Jenner did not appear in another film until Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill (2011), which, like Can't Stop the Music, won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture. Carr said, "Jenner is going to be the Robert Redford of the 80s, and this film will do for Valerie what Carnal Knowledge did for Ann-Margret."

The Village People auditionees depicted in the film included Blackie Lawless (a member of the glam-punk group New York Dolls and heavy metal group W.A.S.P.) and James Marcel (who would later find greater success with the name James Wilder). Background dancers included Perri Lister, girlfriend of Billy Idol and mother to his son, and Peter Tramm, who would go on to appear in dozens of music videos and double for Kevin Bacon in Footloose.

Ray Simpson's role was originally intended for Victor Willis, the original lead singer of the Village People who left the group during pre-production of this film. Morali had hired Willis' then-wife, Phylicia Ayers-Allen, to portray his girlfriend. When Willis left the group, Ayers-Allen quit the movie and was replaced by Altovise Davis.

"This movie's a revolution," said Carr. "I mean this movie is launching whole new careers and we need new stars today. Warren and Ryan and Redford - these people are way over 40."{{cite news|first=Sally Ogle|last=Davis|title=Carr wants to put the tinsel back into Tinseltown|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=21 June 1980|page=E 7}}

Carr had attempted to cast Olivia Newton-John in this film as Samantha, but after discussions between her producer, John Farrar, and Morali over who would write Newton-John's numbers, Newton-John instead signed on to play the lead in Xanadu.{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Hofler|title=Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=New York City|date=2010|isbn=978-0306816550|pages=105–118}} "It wasn't only money," said Carr, "it was creative control and other demands." Newton-John has said in interviews since, she didn't understand Carr's statement, since her only "demand" was that Farrar write two songs for her to sing in the film, which was the same "demand" she made in Grease.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

The schedule of the film was 11 weeks: eight in Los Angeles, two in New York and one in San Francisco. A proposed week of filming on Fire Island was scrapped due to fear of the weather. Carr was coming off a massive worldwide hit with the pop musical Grease when shooting took place between May and July 1979 at the height of the disco craze. Carr took a hands-on role with the production, and personally directed and cast the male athlete extras for the "Y.M.C.A." musical sequence.

Shooting took place at MGM Studios in Culver City, California, with location shooting in New York City and San Francisco. Location shooting in New York was somewhat complicated by adjacent protests by gay activists over the William Friedkin film Cruising (starring Al Pacino), which was filming on location nearby. The two productions were mistaken for each other more than once, with protestors disrupting the Can't Stop the Music location shoots when they had intended to halt production of Cruising. A few weeks prior to release, Jenner and Perrine hosted a TV special, Allan Carr's Magic Night, to promote the film.

Tensions between Walker and Perrine rose on the set to the point that Walker would not be present for scenes featuring Perrine, leaving director of cinematography Bill Butler to direct in her place. Additionally, Perrine was reportedly unhappy that a dance number in which she performed was cut from the film.{{cite news|first=Stacey|last=Peck|title=Home Q&A: Valerie Perrine: Hers is a Peaceful Life, Filled with Animals, Plants and Projects |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=30 November 1980|page=S 70}}

Carr said he decided to change the title during filming because, as the music score included older ballads and Broadway numbers, it would be inaccurate to call it Discoland. However, the decision was made shortly after Disco Demolition Night, which effectively ended the popularity of the genre.{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/greatestflops7.html|title = Greatest Box-Office Bombs, Disasters and Flops|website=Filmsite}} During filming, sales for the Village People's albums started to decline and disco became increasingly unfashionable. "They'll still be hot," said Carr of the Village People. "If not I will resurrect them." Two of the band's three biggest hits, "In the Navy" and "Macho Man," do not appear in the film, though Perrine wears a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Macho Woman" as she jogs through the men's locker room at the YMCA. Another reference to one of the band's songs, "San Francisco (You've Got Me)," appears in the opening credits, as Jack passes a group of three women with the words "San Francisco" printed on their T-shirts.

The band's silver and white costumes in the "Milkshake" sequence and red costumes in the finale sequences were designed by Theoni V. Aldredge.

1. "The Sound of the City" - David London
2. "Samantha" - David London
3. "I Love You to Death" - Village People
4. "Sophistication" - The Ritchie Family
5. "Give Me a Break" - The Ritchie Family
6. "Liberation" - Village People
7. "Magic Night" - Village People
8. "Y.M.C.A." - Village People
9. "Milkshake" - Village People
10. "Can't Stop the Music" - Village People

Jack's song "Samantha" is credited in the film as being sung by David London, a pseudonym for rock singer Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen, who was the lead singer for several popular rock bands during the 1980s whose biggest success came as one of the lead singers on Toto's Isolation album, released in 1984. London/Frederiksen also sings a second song on the soundtrack, "The Sound of the City".{{cite web | title=Fergie Frederiksen Discography | url=http://www.toto99.com/disco/fergiedisco.shtml | publisher=Official Toto Website | date= 2005-12-05 | access-date=2009-05-09}}

While the film's soundtrack album contains the 10 songs from the film, the incidental score by Morali and Belolo was released on LP only in Australia.[https://www.discogs.com/Jacques-Morali-Henri-Belolo-Cant-Stop-The-Music-The-Original-Score-Album/release/12368661 Jacques Morali – Can't Stop The Music - The Original Score Album (1980, Vinyl|Discogs] One of the songs in the film's background score is the instrumental backing track of "Like an Eagle," a hit song by another Casablanca Records artist, Dennis Parker.

By the time of the film's release during the summer of 1980, the disco genre had not only peaked in the United States but also was experiencing a backlash there. As a result, the film received scathing reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office. At a cost estimated at $20 million, the film was a colossal failure financially, bringing in only a tenth of that in gross revenue,{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080492/business|title=Can't Stop the Music (1980) - Box office / business|work=IMDb|access-date=September 30, 2015}} and is considered one of the reasons for the downfall of AFD. "Our timing was wrong, and in this business, timing is everything," wrote Lew Grade, who invested in the movie.{{cite book|first=Lew|last=Grade|authorlink=Lew Grade|title=Still Dancing: My Story|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York City|date=1988|isbn=978-0006372707|page=252}} The soundtrack album was better received, and while it reached only No. 49 in the U.S. (the first Village People album not to go Gold), it reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 1 in Australia. The film itself also performed well in Australia, where the world premiere preview was shown at the Paramount Theatre, Sydney on June 1, 1980, with the after party held at Maxy's. The BBC bought the film for two showings for $3.5 million, which caused much controversy at the time,{{cite news|first=Roderick|last=Mann|title=Heston to Shoot Up for Holmes: Movie News|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 27, 1980|page=H 1}} while ABC in America paid $6 million.{{cite news|first=Ed|last=Fishbein|title=Dying at the box office? Who cares?|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=10 January 1981|page=E 3}}

Carr's next film, Grease 2, brought in more than twice as much on its opening weekend as this film grossed in its entire run. Even though it was considered a failure, Grease 2 nearly made back its investment in its U.S. gross alone.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084021/business|title=Grease 2 (1982) - Box office / business|work=IMDb|access-date=September 30, 2015}}

Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream sold a flavor called "Can't Stop the Nuts" as part of the promotion of the film.

Can't Stop the Music received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 21% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10.{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cant_stop_the_music/ |title=Can't Stop the Music|date=January 1, 1980|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=July 31, 2024}}

The New York Times gave the film a scathing review, calling it "thoroughly homogenized".{{cite news |first=Janet |last=Maslin |author-link=Janet Maslin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/20/archives/cant-stop-the-music.html |title='Can't Stop the Music' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 20, 1980 |access-date=February 17, 2022 }} Variety magazine felt likewise, writing "The Village People, along with ex-Olympic decathlon champion [Caitlyn] Jenner, have a long way to go in the acting stakes."{{cite web |author1=Variety Staff |title=Can't Stop the Music |url=https://variety.com/review/VE1117789688 |website=Variety |date=1 January 1980}} Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert selected the film as one of their "dogs of the year" in a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews. They commented that while the musical sequences are decent, even a musical film needs a decent narrative, which in the case of Can't Stop the Music was crowded out by an overabundance of unrelated characters.{{cite web|url=http://siskelandebert.org/video/K67XHXKYBXU4/Worst-of-1980|title=Siskel & Ebert org - Worst of 1980|work=siskelandebert.org|access-date=September 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108010735/http://siskelandebert.org/video/K67XHXKYBXU4/Worst-of-1980|archive-date=January 8, 2018|url-status=dead}}

Rex Reed gave the film 3 (out of 4) stars, writing, "The big surprise is that although Can't Stop the Music is certainly one of the silliest movies ever made, it is also a vibrant and uplifting musical whose energy succeeded in both confusing and entertaining me so completely that I'm not sure I can even begin to assess it rationally. All I can tell you is that it is worth seeing twice, and from me that is rare praise indeed."{{cite book |last=Reed |first=Tex |title=Rex Reed's Guide to Movies on TV & Video |date=1992 |publisher=Warner Books |isbn=0446362069}}

The film contributed to the collapse of EMI Films as a strong moviemaking force in Hollywood.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-nat-cohen-part-five-1971-1988/|access-date=5 February 2025|date=5 February 2025|title=Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)}}

Can't Stop the Music was the first winner of the Worst Picture Golden Raspberry Award, for it was a double feature of this and Xanadu that inspired John J. B. Wilson to start the Razzies.{{cite news|last=Germain|first=David (Associated Press)|title=25 Years of Razzing Hollywood's Stinkers|work=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|page=7 D|publisher=Sun-Sentinel Company|date=February 26, 2005}} The film is listed in Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made".{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=John|title=The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst |year=2005|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=978-0-446-69334-9}}

Can't Stop the Music was released on Region 1 DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment, under license from StudioCanal on April 16, 2002. Shout! Factory released a Blu-ray edition on June 11, 2019.{{cite web|work=Shout! Factory|date=April 19, 2019|url=https://shoutfactory.com/blogs/blog/shout-factory-celebrates-pride-month-with-four-definitive-home-entertainment-releases-to-wong-foo-thanks-for-everything-julie-newmar-boom-jeffrey-can-t-stop-the-music|title=Shout! Factory Celebrates Pride Month With Four Definitive Home Entertainment Releases: TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! JULIE NEWMAR - BOOM! - JEFFREY - CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC}}

{{Portal|1970s|1980s

}}

• Car Wash (1976)
• Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• FM (1978)
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
• Thank God It's Friday (1978)
• Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979)
• Roller Boogie (1979)
• Xanadu (1980)
• The Apple (1980)
• Fame (1980)
• Get Rollin' (1980), roller disco documentary

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{sister project links|collapsible=true}}

• {{IMDb title|0080492|Can't Stop the Music}}
• {{TCMDb title|70192|Can't Stop the Music}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqeQWYwVFo0 Official Trailer]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219200649/http://www.jabootu.com/cantstopmusic.htm Detailed review of the film]

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{{S-ttl | title = Razzie Award for Worst Picture | years = 1st Golden Raspberry Awards}}

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{{Village People}}

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{{Razzie Award for Worst Picture}}

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