Artist Xanadu

What Xanadu lacks in plot cohesion—the Roman muse of dance appears to a talented but struggling artist in order to inspire him to create a roller disco—it makes up for by shoehorning in as many musical numbers as it can, with mixed results. The sequences range from rooftop roller-skating to Don Bluth animated cartoons, leading to many unexplained and never again mentioned events. This is a movie that basks in the kitsch atmosphere it creates, cobbling ’70s clichés—Olivia Newton-John and ELO—together into a glittery hodgepodge of teased hair and disco.

Updated 05/25/2010