A to Z Challenge – X

The letter X …

This is where the honesty comes out.  This is when you find out what kind of a person I really am.  I admit it.  I have a guilty pleasure most people roll their eyes at.  The year was 1980 and I was in junior high school.  A friend from across the street and I were over the moon for the movie Grease… the only movie (well, besides Rocky Horror Picture Show) that I have paid to see multiple times in a theater.  So, for two years we had been memorizing the soundtrack and recreating scenes from the movie when it hit.  Olivia Newton-John had a new movie.

Yes, with Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelley how could Xanadu go wrong.  Well, it kind of did.  It got bad reviews and was out of the theaters fairly quickly, but… I liked it.  I loved the music – ONJ, ELO and Cliff Richards.  I still need (Ok, want) the DVD but, every once in a while, it shows up on TV and I step back into my youth.

I loved watching Gene Kelley dancing; he just glides and makes it look so easy.  The roller skating was not the best part of the movie, but at the time roller skating was big so I put up with that to get to the music.

It is not a great movie, but it is my guilty pleasure.  I own the soundtrack for Xanadu and for that I am grateful!

(Here is a video of a mash up of music styles from the visions the characters have of the bar they are creating)

A to Z Challenge – Xanadu

X is for Xanadu

In part Merriam-Webster calls Xanadu “a generalized term for an idyllic place.”  A paradise to escape to, an island dream… or an 80’s movie.  Ok so I LOVE music, and musicals have a special place in my heart.  It is NOT an academy award winner but it was a “cute” film.  And I may be bias as I have always loved Olivia Newton-Johns singing as well as ELO.  So the album does reside in my record collection.  I unfortunately don’t have the DVD yet, but every once in a while it pops up on tv.

But if I were to pick an idyllic place for my own Xanadu, it would be in the country near water.  Lots of gentle animals to see and NO bugs.  But back to the movie…

I also have to credit Gene Kelley.  He didn’t get to dance a lot in the movie, but he has always made it look so doggone easy!  Really smooth moves!

So, yes I am a fan of Xanadu and I am only a little afraid to admit it.  LOL!

 

Follow my A to Z challenge:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W