Thank God It's Friday

1978 "After 5000 years of civilization, we all need a break."
5.4| 1h29m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 19 May 1978 Released
Producted By: Motown Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

It's Friday and everyone is going to the hot new disco. The Commodores are scheduled to play if Floyd shows up with the instruments and Nicole dreams of becoming a disco star. Other characters are there to win the dance contest, or to put a little excitement into a fifth anniversary.

Genre

Comedy, Music, Romance

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Director

Robert Klane

Production Companies

Motown Productions

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Thank God It's Friday Audience Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Micitype Pretty Good
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Woodyanders The setting: a single wild and eventful Friday night at a popular disco club. A motley assortment of folks converge at this dynamic hot spot for a happily swinging good time: Said folks include a couple of teenage girls who are eager to make the scene, a married couple out on a date, the club's sleazy womanizing heel owner, a sweet gal looking for Mr. Right, a merry Mexican-American who lives for dancing, an aspiring singer trying to get her first major break, and a hot-tempered fat jerk. Director Robert Klane, working from a busy script by Armyan Bernstein, ably juggles a bunch of disparate narrative threads which crisscross in all kinds of witty and entertaining ways. Moreover, Klane and Bernstein astutely peg the gaudy threads, thumping insanely groovy music, anything-goes hedonism, uninhibited excessive drug use, and sense of pure live-for-the-moment fun which were hallmarks of the 70's disco craze in a breezy and snappy way. The lively acting from the attractive and appealing cast rates as a real substantial plus, with stand-out contributions by Jeff Goldblum as conceited smarmball ladies' man Tony Di Marco, Debra Winger as the uptight Jennifer, Terri Nunn as spunky teenager Jeannie, Valerie Landsburg as Jeannie's gawky pal Frannie, Chick Vennera as passionate dancer Marv Gomez, Ray Vitte as hip DJ Bobby Speed, Mark Lonow as stuffed shirt accountant Dave, Andrea Howard as Dave's easygoing wife Sue, Robin Menken as the sassy Maddy, John Friedrich as the nerdy Ken, Paul Jabara as the klutzy Carl, Mews Small as the kooky Jackie, and Donna Summer as the determined Nicole Simms. Among the highlights are Vennera's exciting and exuberant impromptu parking lot solo dance, Summer belting out the glorious Oscar-winning disco smash "Last Dance," and the delightfully energetic big dance contest. James Crabe's glittery cinematography gives the film an appropriately garish look while the throbbing disco soundtrack certainly hits the hoppin' spot. Best of all, there's a joy, vibrancy, and infectiously good-natured carefree sensibility evident throughout that's impossible to either resist or dislike. An immensely enjoyable 70's time capsule.
zardoz-13 Comparisons are often inevitable between some films when they cover the same subject matter. The difference between Robert Klane's "Thank God, It's Friday," a dreadful disco musical with Donna Summer, and director John Badham's disco classic "Saturday Night Fever" is not only a difference in days but also star wattage. Alas, not even Travolta could have salvaged "Thank God, It's Friday." Indeed, nobody could have saved this dreck. INcredibly, Debra Winger got her start in this forgettable film. Furthermore, whatever "Saturday Night Fever" did to promote disco fever, "TGIF" could just as easily undo. The incredible thing is that the director, Robert Klane, is a talented writer who won an Emmy for comedy series "Tracey Takes On." The action of "TGIF" occurs in and around the Zoo, a lavish, mirror-plated, space-age discotheque located in Southern California. As the film opens, swirling with aerial shots of the city's night life, an assortment of characters, all played by a youthful cast of unknowns, flock to the Zoo for various reasons. They go to win a dance contest, debut as a vocalist, pick up guys and/or gals or enliven a dreary marriage.The Armyan Bernstein screenplay is an overdone, episodic shambles that never really gets its act together. Whereas "Saturday Night Fever" used the disco scene to offer insights into its hero, "TGIF" exploits the disco scene as an excuse to bring together its more than 10 characters. Far too many characters populate this shoddy dance musical, and it doesn't help matters much that they're not on screen long enough for the audience to identify with them. "Saturday Night Fever" had one unifying character, while "TGIF" contains a number of one-dimensional shadows drifting into and off of the dance floor.If this isn't bad enough, consider the cast and the acting. Yeech! Everybody here hams it up. To get their points across, the guys use sparring gestures. The gals stand around and look dazzling but do nothing short of wearing their warpath well. There is even a John Travolta imitator who looks like a Martian version of Count Dracula, yes, Jeff Goldblum! Goldblum is a womanizer who owns the Zoo.Only a teenager mentality could appreciate the level of Bernstein's humor. One scene has a man dance wildly across the roofs of cars only to fall through the roof of a convertible. Another has a sawed-off, pot-bellied man using the same profane line every time that he runs into somebody. One of the film's running jokes is a sports car owned by Tony Di Marco (Goldblum). He parks it and with loving care wraps it up, then whenever anybody drives into the Zoo, they accidentally smash into it, reducing it to a heap. Hah! Hah! Hah! "Thank God, It's Friday" isn't a total loss. Emmy winning lenser James Crabe's color photography is nice to look at, as are the strobe light effects. Donna Summer provides momentary relief from the predictable plot when she sings "Last Dance for Love," and later when the Commodores appear on-stage.Suffice to say, director Robert Klane directed this mess with his left foot. Even the choreography looks uninspired. If you really like to disco, let dis-movie-go.
peacepit .....DONNA SUMMER.All Donna Summers scenes are great and funny. If you get a chance take a look at her FEET, she has the biggest feet I have seen on a woman. Maybe her shoes were to small or something but it's hilarious.Donna steals the show when she sings the CLASSIC song "Last Dance" and leaves the Commadores looking a little flat.One other moment in the movie is when Donna breaks into the DJ box and trys to sing on the microphone over the track playing. The song is another classic of hers "Love To Love You Baby".Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger and "Doris" from Fame are also thrown in the mix.Definitive Disco Nostalgia
dgordon-1 This is about the only "disco" movie that I have ever liked. To me, it really captures the time & spirit of the late '70s disco craze. Everyone from Debra Winger and her co-worker looking for guys that don't wear polyester, to the great music of the Commodores and Donna Summer make this a nice slice of '70s nostalgia. Everything '70s is represented in this movie: 8-tracks, platform shoes, bell-bottom pants, leisure suits, I think there is even a Ford Pinto in the parking lot of the disco. I feel that this movie never got the recognition that it deserved. It seemed to be drowned out by "Saturday Night Fever" and "Can't Stop The Music". If you are looking for a movie that will bring back the feeling of the '70s, this one is a great choice.