''Thank God It's Friday'' is a 1978 American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

film directed by

Robert Klane Robert Klane (October 17, 1941 – August 29, 2023) was an American screenwriter, novelist and filmmaker, best known for early iconoclastic novels and for his screenplays for dark comedies such as ''Where's Poppa?'' (1970) and ''Weekend at Bernie ...

and produced by Motown Productions and Casablanca FilmWorks for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. Produced at the height of the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

craze, the film features the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

performing "Too Hot ta Trot", and

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

performing " Last Dance", which won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

in 1978. The film features an early performance by

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. Goldblum ...

and the first major screen appearance by

Debra Winger Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She starred in the films '' An Officer and a Gentleman'' (1982), '' Terms of Endearment'' (1983), and '' Shadowlands'' (1993), each of which earned her a nomination for the Academy Awa ...

. The film also features

Terri Nunn Terri Kathleen Nunn (born June 26, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She is known as the vocalist of the 1980s New wave music, new wave and synth-pop band Berlin (band), Berlin. Biography Nunn was born in Los Angeles, California on June 2 ...

, who later achieved fame in the 1980s new wave group

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. This was one of several Columbia Pictures films in which the studio's "Torch Lady" came to life in the opening credits, showing off her moves for a few seconds before the start of the film.

Plot

''Thank God It's Friday'' tells several intertwining stories of the patrons and staff of the fictional Los Angeles disco The Zoo over the course of a single Friday evening. These people include: * Tony Di Marco – owner of The Zoo. Lecherous and promiscuous, he's inordinately fond of his 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera. * Bobby Speed – the club's DJ, who's broadcasting his first live show from the club. * Frannie and Jeannie – two high school friends who want to win The Zoo's dance contest to buy

KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

concert tickets. * Carl and Ken – a hopelessly near-sighted schlub looking for a casual liaison, and his friend looking for a girlfriend. * Dave and Sue – a young married couple celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. * Jackie – dental hygienist by day, drugged-out disco freak and Zoo regular by night. * Jennifer and Maddy – the new girl in town taken to the disco by her know-it-all friend who's not as sophisticated as she thinks she is. * Nicole Sims – an aspiring disco singer. * Marv Gomez – a self-described "leatherman" who lives to dance. * Malcolm Floyd – the roadie for The Commodores, responsible for delivering their instruments to the club by midnight. * Gus and Shirley – a mismatched couple on a blind date. Sue insists that her uptight accountant husband Dave take her to the disco. On a bet with Bobby, Tony tries to pick up Sue. Dave is drugged and renamed "Babbakazoo" by Jackie, and makes a fool of himself. Carl and Ken are repeatedly thwarted in their attempts to meet girls. Frannie and Jeannie trick Marv into helping them sneak into the disco after several failed attempts at gaining entry. Jennifer tries to meet a guy, but Maddy vetoes each of the guys that Jennifer is attracted to. Nicole repeatedly attempts to slip into the DJ booth to get Bobby to play her single. Crude garbage collector Gus is horrified that the dating service has matched him with a prim college educated woman, and one who is taller than he is. Floyd gets stopped repeatedly by the police on suspicion of stealing The Commodores' instruments. Marv teaches the uptight Ken how to dance. Maddy ditches Jennifer to attend a hot tub party (with the same sleazy guys who came on to Jennifer). Gus and Shirley decide to give it a try. Carl finally meets a girl, but becomes trapped in a stairway before they can leave together. Floyd makes it to the club in time for the Commodores to play, but before they go on, Nicole sneaks up on stage and scores a huge triumph singing "Last Dance". Frannie, after tricking Marv's dance partner into the locked stairway, enters the dance contest with Marv. Carl and Marv's dance partner hook up in the stairway. Jennifer and Ken share a romantic dance, as do Nicole and Bobby. Dave comes down and Sue ditches Tony. Tony's parked car, having taken innumerable hits from pretty much every other character's car, falls apart in the parking lot. Marv and Frannie win the big dance contest. Deciding that the

concert is "kid stuff", Frannie and Jeannie, now self-proclaimed "disco queens", go with Marv to hit another disco for the 1:00 a.m. dance contest.

Cast

Production

The film production occurred during the summer and autumn of 1977 at 333 S.

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road in the Los Angeles metropolitan area that runs from the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood in the north to El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne in the south. It was named for Rancho Las ...

(on the corner of La Cienga and San Vicente Boulevard) in Los Angeles. The building was formerly named the Millionaire’s Club, which was closed several years before the film. Within these several years, the building underwent “a series of disco and restaurant attempts,” including one named Cabaret. It then was reopened as the nightclub Osko’s in December 1977, several months after the filming. The club had four dance floors and 'the Cave', an ice cavern-themed room as seen in the film. Osko's was also a filming location of the 1978 horror film ''

Jennifer Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer *Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televisi ...

''. Club owner Osko Karaghossian had a role as a bouncer in the film. Osko's nightclub was completely demolished by the early 1990s and was replaced by a large Loehmann's dress store.

Release

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 36% rating, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

rated the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "When you describe it, it sounds like a lot more fun than it is when you see it." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film an identical 1.5-star grade and called it "a disco movie that's little more than a dismal record promotion ... More attention has been paid to the display of records than people."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the film was "really a record album with live-action liner notes featuring a dozen young actors, most of whom are quite nice and, as yet, unknown, and a few who are better known but not as impressive as the new people." Canby remarked that Donna Summer, "whose wigs are as elaborate as

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

's, is competition for the superb Miss Ross in no department other than hair." Arthur D. Murphy of ''Variety'' wrote, "Donna Summer makes her film debut in a comparatively charming role of an aspiring singer who cons her way to the disco stage and instant stardom. Fact that she is not known as an actress makes the thesping believable. Rest of cast, however, includes many with strong prior credits who are shot down by the Barry Armyran Bernstein script and Robert Klane's direction." Kevin Thomas of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described the film as a "lively, zany, often crass, sometimes irresponsible but surpassingly good-natured movie," with Summer possessing "an exciting screen presence", if not strong acting abilities. Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' panned the film as "90 aimless, alienating minutes" full of "TV sitcom-pilot boors, half-wits and low-lifes" who "don't sustain a glimmer of human interest. When attention shifts back to one character or set of characters previously introduced, you have trouble placing them." In his annual '' Movie Guide'', film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

rated the film as a "BOMB". He wrote that it is "perhaps the worst film ever to have won some kind of

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

", for Summer's hit song " Last Dance".

Box office

The film opened in New York City on May 19, 1978 and grossed $752,000 from 85 theaters in its first week, which made it second for the week at the U.S. box office behind ''

The Greek Tycoon ''The Greek Tycoon'' is a 1978 American biographical romantic drama film, of the ''roman à clef'' type, directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells, who loosely ...

''.

Accolades

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in these lists: * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** " Last Dance" – Nominated

Home media

''Thank God It's Friday'' was released on Region 1 DVD on April 4, 2006 and released on Blu ray on May 1, 2018 by Mill Creek Entertainment.

Soundtrack

The film contains many popular disco songs, with many key performers featured, including

, Pattie Brooks, Love & Kisses,

The Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

. A triple album containing many of the tracks heard in the film was released six weeks in advance of the theatrical release to build up interest in the film. Several songs heard in the film were not included on the soundtrack album, including Alec R. Costandinos' "

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

's "

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

", The Originals' "Down to Love Town", D.C. LaRue's "You Can Always Tell a Lady (By the Company She Keeps)",

' " Brick House",

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

's "You Are The Reason (I Feel Like Dancing)",

Meco Domenico Monardo (November 29, 1939 – May 26, 2023), known as Meco, was an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of his band or production team. Meco is best known for his 1977 space disco version of the ''Star Wars'' ...

's "Meco's Theme" and the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...

tracks, "In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)" and " I Am What I Am". The biggest hit single on the album was Donna Summer's " Last Dance", which won an

as well as a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Original Song and also made it to #3 on the US singles chart. The song was written by

Paul Jabara Paul Frederick Jabara (January 31, 1948 – September 29, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He wrote Donna Summer's Oscar-winning " Last Dance" from '' Thank God It's Friday'' (1978), as well as "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough ...

, who the following year composed Summer's duet with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, "

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a song recorded by American singers Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, released in October 1979. It was written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts (singer), Bruce Roberts, and produced by Giorgio Moroder and G ...

". Jabara performed two of the songs on the ''Thank God It's Friday'' soundtrack and appeared in the film as well. The soundtrack album was issued as a three-record set in 1978, of which the third disc was a single side 12 inch single of the 15:45 minutes Donna Summer, " Je t'aime... moi non plus" track. Upon its 1978 release, a promo set of separate 12" singles of every track was released to select DJs only. An edited CD came out in 1995 on the budget label Rebound Records. A digitally remastered version of the full soundtrack on a 2 disc set was released on PolyGram Records on March 25, 1997. The company that holds the rights to the album is as of 1998 the

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. The album is described by many as the world's only five-sided soundtrack album. Cameo's "Find My Way" was issued as a 7" single in 1975.

and Donna Summer's cover version of

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

and

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

's 1969 hit single " Je t'aime... moi non plus" was recorded a few years earlier, but had its debut on the soundtrack and was issued as an edited 7" single in a few countries in 1978. "

Too Hot ta Trot "Too Hot ta Trot" is a song by R&B/funk band, the Commodores. The song is written in E major. The track on their 1977 live album '' Commodores Live!'', and it spent a week at number one on the R&B singles chart and peaked at number twenty-four on ...

" was from

' 1977 album '' Commodores Live!'' – on certain editions of the ''Thank God It's Friday'' album replaced by a studio recording. The song topped Billboard's R & B chart the week of February 18, 1978. Other titles on the soundtrack, including " Last Dance", were recorded for the film.

' " Lovin' Livin' and Givin'" was remixed after the release of the soundtrack and used as the opening track on her 1978 album '' Ross''. It was released as a single in certain territories and has since been remixed and re-edited a number of times for inclusion on various hits packages issued by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

/Universal Music. The final part of

's " Last Dance" is later re-included as a separate track titled "Reprise" toward the end of the soundtrack album. An edited version of the whole track was the version issued on the 7" single in most countries, and this track can be found on many of Summer's compilations, including 1994's '' Endless Summer'' and 2003's '' The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer''. The 12" single used the full-length 8:11 version. A live recording of the track was included on the album '' Live and More'', issued in late 1978 and the following year the studio version was remixed by

for what was to be Summer's final

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

album '' On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2''. The 1979 mix can be found on Summer's 1993 and 2005 compilations '' The Donna Summer Anthology'' and ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

'' respectively. An extended remix of Summer's "With Your Love" was issued as a promo 12" single in 1978; a slightly shorter version of this can be found on the cd

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

/ PolyGram's 1987 release '' The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles''. The 8 track cartridge and cassette both feature the full length version.

Track listing

Side one # Love & Kisses: " Thank God It's Friday" (Alec R. Costandinos) – 4:13 #*Producer: Alec R. Costandinos # Pattie Brooks: "After Dark" (Simon Soussan/Sabrina Soussan) – 7:50 #*Producer: Simon Soussan #

: "With Your Love" (Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, Donna Summer) – 3:58 #* Producers:

, Pete Bellotte #Donna Summer: " Last Dance" (

) – 8:11 #* Producers:Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte Side two #Paul Jabara: "Disco Queen" (Paul Jabara) – 3:45 #*Producers: Bob Esty, Paul Jabara # Cameo: "Find My Way" (Johnny Melfi) – 4:56 #*Producer: Larry Blackmon #

: "

" (

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

, Milan Williams, Ronald LaPread, Thomas McClary, Walter "Clyde" Orange, William King) – 3:24 #*Producers: The Commodores, James Carmichael #Wright Bros. Flying Machine: "Leatherman's Theme" ( Arthur G. Wright) – 3:22 #*Producer: Arthur G. Wright #Marathon: "I Wanna Dance" (Pete Bellotte,

Thor Baldursson Thor Baldursson (born Þórir Baldursson in 1944) is an Icelandic composer, organist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with Giorgio Moroder, and records with Donna Summer, Grace Jones and Elton John. The 1978 Disco-funk track ...

) – 5:58 #*Producer: Pete Bellotte Side three #

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

: "Take It To the Zoo" (Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer, Joe Esposito) – 7:56 #*Producer: Arthur G. Wright # Santa Esmeralda: "Sevilla Nights" (Jean-Manuel de Scarano, Nicolas Skorsky,

Jean-Claude Petit Jean-Claude Petit (born 14 November 1943) is a French composer and arranger, born in Vaires-sur-Marne. After accompanying jazzmen in his childhood, Petit went to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied harmony and counterpoint. He did the s ...

) – 6:05 #*Producers: Jean-Manuel de Scarano, Nicolas Skorsky # Love & Kisses: "You're the Most Precious Thing in My Life" (Alec R. Costandinos) – 8:02 #*Producer: Alec R. Constandinos Side four # D.C. LaRue: "Do You Want the Real Thing" (D.C. LaRue, Bob Esty) – 4:40 #*Producer: Bob Esty #Paul Jabara: "Trapped in a Stairway" (Bob Esty, Paul Jabara) – 3:22 #*Producer: Paul Jabara, Bob Esty #Natural Juices: "Floyd's Theme" ( Dick St. Nicklaus) – 2:57 #*Producer: Dick St. Nicklaus #

: " Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" (Kenneth Stover, Pam Davis) – 3:17 (CD releases: – 4:40, remixed version) #*Producer: Hal Davis #

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1943) is an American singer and actress. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for ...

: "Love Masterpiece" (Art Posey, Josef Powell) – 4:01 #*Producer: Hal Davis #Donna Summer " Last Dance" (Paul Jabara) (Reprise) – 3:17 #* Producers: Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte Side five #Donna Summer: " Je t'aime... moi non plus" (

) – 15:45 #* Producers: Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thank God It's Friday 1970s musical comedy films 1978 films American musical comedy films Columbia Pictures films 1970s English-language films Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award Jukebox musical films Motown Productions films Films with screenplays by Armyan Bernstein 1970s dance films Disco films 1978 directorial debut films 1978 comedy films 1970s American films Films scored by Giorgio Moroder Films directed by Robert Klane English-language musical comedy films 1978 musical films