Fast Forward (film)

Fast Forward is a 1985 dance film directed by Sidney Poitier. In the film, a dance troupe from Ohio comes to New York to compete in a national talent competition. The 1987 Bollywood film Dance Dance and the 2003 Tamil film Boys were influenced by this film.

Fast Forward
Theatrical poster
Directed bySidney Poitier
Produced byMelville Tucker
John Veitch
Written byTimothy March
Richard Wesle
Starring
Music byTom Bähler
Jack Hayes
Tom Scott
CinematographyMatthew F. Leonetti
Edited byDavid E. Blewitt
Harry Keller
Art Seid
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Delphi III Productions
Verdon-Cedric Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 15, 1985 (1985-02-15)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,791,350 [1]

Plot synopsis

"The Adventurous Eight," a multiracial talented group of singing and dancing teenagers from Sandusky, Ohio crave stardom so badly that they spend their spare time rehearsing their original songs and dance routines in an old building every day after school. The group consists of two boys and 6 girls: Matt, Michael, June, Debbie, Rita, Francine, Meryl and Valerie.

A tacit promise of an audition from a well known dance executive leads the kids to New York, but on arrival at the company headquarters they are greeted by the news that the executive who had promised them an audition died. At first rebuffed when they claim to have met Mr. Sabol personally, they provide a business card from him, which leads them to a meeting with the current head of the company, Clem Friedkin. They then tell their story as to how Matt (John Scott Clough) and Michael (Don Franklin) met him by posing as waiters and obtained the card. However, they told their story for nothing since the show they arrived to perform in has been postponed for three weeks and he doubts they'd make it past the first round. After pressing him, he promises that if they are still in town when he returns in 3 and a half weeks he will give them 5 minutes to audition.

When the boys return with the bad news, they all come together to agree to do whatever it takes to stay in town. After three days of cleaning the filthy apartment they can afford, they want to eat more than fast food. Matt comes up with a plan how they can eat steak that night: dancing for tips in a fancy restaurant. The number goes off well since they picked a hotel with a dental convention whose members think the entertainment was the manager's idea. As they sit around and eat, they discuss their success and what to do with their money.

Over the next couple of weeks, the Adventurous Eight continue to raise money by passing out business cards while dancing in front of crowds in hopes of getting paying gigs. Which is what happens after being seen during one of their performances. When they go to famous dance club The Zoo, they run into a rival dance crew who is more street savvy and dances rings around them. Furious with what happened at the club, Michael demands they learn more current dance moves so they are never shown up again as well as being ready for the contest.

Furthering their issues, the male tenants of the apartment building continue to refuse to keep their hands to themselves and one of the girls breaks a car window fighting them off. Two of their parents are called to get them out of jail. After some pleading, they allow their daughters to stay until the contest is over. Matt found himself tempted by Susan, the young woman who has hired the group to dance for a party she is tasked with coordinating since they are spending a lot of time together. After their performance at the party, she pulls Matt away from the rest of the group to pay him and is caught kissing him by her mother. He fails to wipe her lipstick off and after a heated argument girlfriend June decides to leave the group and return to Sandusky. The rest of the girls convince her to stay during a late night out drinking.

Michael asks Matt if he thinks they are ready for the Shoot Out contest and they agree they are, but they have something to do first. They return to The Zoo and challenge the rival dance crew, this time coming out on top with fresh new dance moves. However when they return to see Friedkin, he refuses to give them the audition because Susan's mother made a call. They find Mrs. Sabol and convince her to assist them in getting into the contest (she calls Susan's mother for a reference and gives them a shot since they have never agreed on anything) after she seem them perform. Later, she goes to see Friedkin and discovers he has rigged the contest in favor of pre-selected entertainers who are guaranteed to make the company more than $250,000,000 over the next decade instead of staying true to the vision of her husband.

After returning to the apartment, she convinces the group to take a chance with her and allow her to be their manager. The night of the contest, she disguises herself to get in and brings the group. She then contacts her people to get them and herself on stage (Friedkin barred her from the contest). Before going on stage, Matt tells June he's going to leave the group. She thinks he's not sincere and doing it for Susan, but Michael divulges that Susan married her boyfriend after using Matt to make him jealous. The group gets on stage and performs successfully and eventually to the cheers of an encore while Mrs. Sabol informs Friedkin that she is going to begin taking back control of her company.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was released on Qwest Records following the release of the film. A music video for the modest hit "Do You Want it Right Now" by Siedah Garrett was produced. The song reached #3 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play and #63 on the US R&B Charts. Quincy Jones and Tom Bahler acted as executive producers of the album.

Track listing:

  1. "Breakin' Out" - Kip Lennon – 3:06 (M. Vieha/J. Ingram/O.E. Brown/B. Walsh). Produced by Mark Vieha and Brock Walsh.
  2. "Do You Want it Right Now" - Siedah Garrett – 5:36 (C. Burton/N. Straker). Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez.
  3. "Long as We Believe" - Siedah Garrett and David Swanson – 4:06 (P. Glass/N.M. Walden/W. Afanasieff/T. Bahler/S. Garrett). Produced by Narada Michael Walden.
  4. "Curves" - Siedah Garrett – 5:00 (P. Glass/N.M. Walden). Produced by Narada Michael Walden.
  5. "Taste" - Siedah Garrett and David Swanson – 5:28 (D. Swanson/S. Garrett). Produced by Narada Michael Walden.
  6. "Showdown" - Pulse featuring Adele Bertei – 5:43 (Jellybean/S. Bray/Toni C.). Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez.
  7. "Survive" - Kip Lennon – 3:40 (T. Bahler/B. Walsh). Produced by Brock Walsh.
  8. "Fast Forward" - Kip Lennon – 4:01 (B. Walsh/T. Bahler/J. Van Tongeren/B. Hull). Produced by Brock Walsh.

References
  1. https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fastforward.htm
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