Lost in translation: A director's cut of 54 makes the disco drama one of the best queer films ever

Speaking of rare gems found only at Outfest, a "secret screening" was advertised with a not-so-blind item listing in the festival program: "Set in 1970, New York City. The most glamorous nightclub the world has ever known. The original tale of a bisexual bartender, a busboy and an ambitious coat check girl." The couple hundred people in attendance Friday night got exactly what they'd expected -- a director's cut of disco drama 54.

Except, it turns out, we had absolutely no idea just what we were missing the first time around. As shown for Outfest, 54 is just as writer-director Mark Christopher intended: Shane, an eager, naive young man (Ryan Phillippe, post-One Life to Live, pre-Cruel Intentions) from New Jersey, gets a job as a bartender at Studio 54. There he falls in love with both his best friend, Greg (Breckin Meyer), and Greg's wife, Anita (Salma Hayek), as the three of them struggle to survive the hedonistic, oppotunistic club scene that nearly eats them alive.

Rumors that the movie, released in 1998 to tepid reviews and middling box office returns, once included a gay kiss and a greater exploration of Phillippe's character's sexual awakening turned out to be true -- but come nowhere near capturing what was lost when a test audience's reaction supposedly prompted Miramax to force weeks of re-shoots, drastically altering the entire film. It's not an expanded edition; it's an entirely different movie.

In 45 minutes of new (original, that is) footage assembled by Christopher -- using largely uncorrected, rough audio and video that was expertly edited -- we see Shane sleep with dozens of men and women, for career advancement or simply pleasure. Phillippe is in nearly every scene, and his performance is strong, sympathetic and seductive. It's also frequently nude, or barely dressed, and the camera clings to what one character calls his "body by David and face by Botticelli." And far from being merely a "love triangle," the slow, simmering sexual attraction among Phillippe, Meyer and Hayek -- especially an amazingly intense, evocative kiss between the two men towards the end of the film -- is equally as important as the queer family they make for themselves.

Even Mike Myers -- whose role as 54 owner Steve Rubell was widely touted as his brave bid to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor -- benefits from the re-cut. The '98 version made him a caricature, a wise-cracking, ass-grabbing dirty old gay whose eyes were always bigger than his mouth. He's more creepy in this take, but also more empathetic, more tragically addicted to the beauty of youth no matter the cost.

Had 54 been released originally as screened at Outfest (even with some concessions made for an R rating), it would absolutely have been the New York counterpart to Boogie Nights. It also would have been canonized as one of the best queer films of the '90s, and a rare one that would have stood the test of time, thanks to its pitch-perfect period details.

Maybe the mistakes made by Weinstein-era Miramax can still be corrected -- Christopher hinted there may be some additional screenings of his cut. It's probably asking too much to hope Disney, which now owns the rights to Miramax's catalog, would seize the chance to play Prince Charming and rescue 54 for a full DVD re-issue. But I hear it never hurts to make a wish upon a star, so here goes.

Link: http://www.popnography.com/2008/07/lost-in-transla.html