Heavenly Bodies

Single mom Samantha Blair (Cynthia Dale) opens a small aerobics studio called Heavenly Bodies. When Samantha beats out a rival aerobics instructor for a job hosting a local TV station's fitness show, the woman sets out to destroy Heavenly Bodies. It's a feud for the ages that will be decided with an epic workout marathon.

Despite the suggestive title and the fact this was co-produced by Playboy, there's surprisingly little in this one would call sexy. The dancercise numbers are more laugh-inducing than boner-inducing. Still, Cynthia Dale is a cutie and does an admirable job with the exercise choreography. The boy playing her son is a poor little actor. The football player love interest is played by Richard Rebiere. Pretty sad if that's the best Canada had to offer in 1984. Their sex scene, intercut with an aerobics workout, is pretty funny. Generic '80s pop music litters the movie. It wasn't particularly good but damned if some of it wasn't stuck in my head for hours afterwards. The movie's about as filling as cotton candy. However, it does have some unintentional comedy. The best part is the workout marathon. It's pretty hard to get a Rocky/Karate Kid moment out of aerobics but they sure as hell try.

I howled with laughter all the way through this silly, childish "Flashdance" rip-off. It's a definite contender to the list of "so bad, it's good" flicks, although it's probably too obscure to be widely known. The acting is pretty hideous and the script is packed with of some of the most unintentionally hilarious dialogue you'll hear anywhere. "Flashdance" had many of the same qualities, but this makes "Flashdance" look like high art in comparison!!

More laughs than the average comedy.

I thought it was enjoyable. People are judging it a little harshly, I don't think it was meant to be Shakespeare exactly. It might have worked better as a t.v. movie, but still, I thought it was a fun little drama and got some smiles out of it. They could have used a little more variety in the soundtrack--I think we hear several repeats of about four songs--but it was capitalizing on the then-dawning workout craze, and that's what you might expect. They could have done some more character development. We should have seen some more conversations or in other ways gotten to know more about the characters. It really plays a lot like a workout tape itself, it's more about the club than the people...but it's not worse than some other movies which have gotten more praise.

Canadian movie producer Robert Lantos (who produced this movie) has basically proclaimed himself as a savior of Canadian film, though oddly he has made plenty of movies not set in Canada, or set in some anonymous North American location. And virtually all his mass market movies - including this one - are not set in Canada! What's the matter, Lantos, can't Canada have any fun? Actually, I am glad that this movie was set in the United States, because it's pretty awful and I'd hate foreigners knowing this movie was Canadian. There's plenty of reasons why this movie is tough to sit through - there's almost no plot, the characters are given almost no development, and the movie is one endless workout sequence after the other. If you're thinking there's plenty of sex and nudity because Playboy helped produce the movie, think again - there's almost none of that stuff. I can't see anyone finding this movie appealing, so it's no wonder this movie was out of theaters quickly despite the distributor treating it as a major release.

Look, this isn't a "good" movie in any way, unless you love watching aerobics, BUT it's corny beyond belief with a goofy synth pop soundtrack and a dance off competition in the end. If you like your 80's cheese thickly sliced, then it's gouda!