Staying Alive
In this sequel to 'Saturday Night Fever, set six years after the events in the previous film, former disco king Anthony "Tony" Manero (John Travolta), now age 25, has left Brooklyn and is now living in Manhattan, staying in a flophouse hotel while he works as a dance instructor by day and as a waiter at a nightclub at night, looking for his big break in the modern dance productions on Broadway.
His breakaway from his Brooklyn life, dysfunctional family and friends seems to have matured Tony and refined his personality, specifically represented by his diminished Brooklyn accent and his avoidance of alcohol and swear words. But certain attitudes haven't changed, which include his womanizing skills. Tony is currently dating the forgiving fellow dancer Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes). He holds a double standard whereby he feels at liberty to see other women, but becomes jealous if he finds Jackie even talking with other men.
While watching a theater show in which Jackie is a dancer in the chorus, Tony focuses instead on the lead, a wealthy English dancer, Laura (Finola Hughes). He seduces and spends the night with her, but it becomes clear that Laura only intended to be involved with him for one night. Tony feels used by her. She coldly dubs their relationship a mere one-night stand and justifies this by saying, "Everybody uses everybody." She even implies that Tony used her in order to get a dance role in her latest show.
Jackie is unhappy by his breaking several promises to meet with her. Jackie is also the vocalist of a local band and, unable to trust Tony, instead presumably begins a relationship with the band's rhythm guitarist (Frank Stallone), further upsetting Tony after his conflict with Laura. Jackie, Tony, and Laura all try out for the Broadway production, "Satan's Alley". The others land small parts while Laura is once again cast as the lead female dancer. Jackie, sick of being considered second best in Tony's eyes, finally leaves him. Tony realizes how cruel he has been to her.
Tony walks all the way from Manhattan to his old neighborhood in Brooklyn in the middle of the night, he also walks past his former Saturday night hangout, The 2001 Odyssey Discothque, realizing it's now an all-night gay nightclub for men. He visits his old house and meets his mother (Julie Bovasso), whom is now single since Tony's angry and unemployed father left her three or four years earlier. Tony apologizes to his mother for his selfish ways when he was young. She tells him it was the selfishness that got him out of the dead-end life in Brooklyn. Feeling better after this, Tony heads back to Manhattan to make things right with Jackie. He and the snobby Laura remain distant and hostile as the production progresses.
Seeing an opportunity to replace the lead male dancer, Tony asks Jackie to help practice a number. Laura is disgusted by the fact that Tony lands the lead, meaning she must now dance with Tony during the production. Despite her animosity, the two display a chemistry on stage. But on opening night, Tony brashly goes against the script and kisses Laura. She is repulsed and scratches his face. Tony completes the rest of the performance without further problems, creating excitement with the audience and cast (including Tony's mother who attends the event).
After the show, he apologizes to Jackie and the two get back together, while the angry and defeated Laura watches them from afar. Following his renewed relationship with Jackie, Tony exits by the stage door to "strut" in celebration, reminiscent of the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever as he walks alone through nighttime Times Square, beaming with newfound self-confidence.