When the film purporting to document the formation of The Village People opened in 1980 it garnered almost universally bad reviews. The film was also seen as being so bad that (along with Xanadu) it brought about the formation of an annual awards ceremony celebrating the worst of cinema, The Golden Raspberry Awards. But, is it really that bad?

The story revolves around Steve Guttenberg’s character Jack Morrell (a reference to real-life songwriter Jacques Morali) forming an all-male supergroup with his retired supermodel roommate Samantha (Valerie Perrine) who will perform the songs he will write for him as it is judged that his voice isn’t good enough to perform the material himself. Samantha decides to use her connections to try to get the group (now named The Village People as a reference to Greenwich Village) a recording deal.

I first saw Can’t Stop The Music when I was living on Taylor Square in Sydney literally in the heart of the city’s gay hub. The LGBT section of the local video stores stocked gay films new and old and so it was because of this that got to see this opus. When I first saw the film I thought ‘What the fuck was that?!’

And on watching it again recently my opinion hasn’t changed. Watching Can’t Stop The Music is like taking acid on a rollercoaster ride that lasts for the film’s duration. New York is depicted as a brightly coloured and frankly bizarre place, just like the film itself.

Can’t Stop The Music bombed on its original release but this could have been the fault of the studio releasing it. If only it was directed towards the drive-ins and Grindhouse cinemas it would have been recognised for what it is- a cult classic, especially for stoners. The film’s narrative is so loose and the events that carry the movie along are so strange that they would only really make sense to smokers and tokers. There were episodes in the film that I will never see anywhere else- the opening title sequence of Steve Guttenberg rollerskating through the streets of New York, the character who goes to use a phonebooth but gets her finger stuck in the phone’s dial and remains stuck in there until nightfall, the old woman who turns out to be a mugger to name but a few.

The musical sequences are similarly utterly strange but very entertaining because of it. In fact, they remind me of the raunchier dance sequences from Kenny Everett’s Video Show. The sequence for ‘I Love You To Death’ also reminded me of the video for Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.

I also found it weird that there was such a disco theme to the film when the disco bubble had apparently burst. By the time of the movie’s release in 1980, the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement was in full swing with people openly burning disco records the year before.

An aspect of The Village People that isn’t addressed by the film is their sexuality. The film was intended to be released with as family-friendly a rating as possible and so the members of the band being gay is a moot point. In fact, in one scene Felipe Rose (the Indian) is seen kissing a woman who has been pursuing him throughout the movie’s running time.

But, the gayness is there, at first, in subtle sneaky ways like when Sam asks for a hankie to wipe her mouth after eating an ice cream. Randy Jones (the Cowboy) passes her the hankie from his back pocket (red, if you’re wondering). Also, check out Bruce (not yet Caitlyn) Jenner’s street attire of a tight crop top and denim shorts. The words ‘Fire Island’ spring to mind.

And then after these tiny clinks of gayness here and there, the film decides to stage a dance routine for the band’s big hit YMCA in, you’ve guessed it, the YMCA. And oh my! The sequence goes full-on, rainbow-flagged, chaps-wearing gay. And it’s wonderful! Samantha is included in this scene because, y’know, it can’t be homoerotic if a woman’s involved! Either the filmmakers hadn’t heard of fag-hags or they were FULLY aware (I’m hoping for the latter). She even changes into a t-shirt that is emblazoned with the slogan ‘Macho Woman’ on it. Quite. There are scenes of nude men in locker rooms, Samantha gets a massage from a hunk and we even get a scene of her in a hot tub with the band. This scene is also notable as the film sneaks in ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ full-frontal male nudity. The MPAA didn’t pick up on this and so the scene went through without a demand for it to be censored. That’s punk rock for such a disco-oriented film.

As an aside, Can’t Stop The Music was being filmed in proximity to another gay-themed film- Cruising, a film that depicted another aspect of gay life. In fact, the protesters who were trying to disrupt the filming of Cruising would sometimes get confused and start trying to halt the filming of Can’t Stop The Music! Wouldn’t it have been great if there was a crossover sequel made that incorporated both films? The Village People in their natural habitat at The Mineshaft and The Anvil. We can only dream.

Verdict- Can’t Stop The Music is a mindf*ck of a film. But I enjoyed it because of this. It’s never boring and is one of a kind. The film would only truly make sense to stoners and could probably be akin to a religious experience for the heavily medicated. But who wants all cinema to make sense? Can’t Stop The Music is a dizzying and occasionally nauseating experience but should be seen at least once by fans of cult cinema.