Flashdance (1983)

During the 1980s, ripped sweatshirts were all the rage due to Flashdance (1983). Back then, backstage dance movies were a big deal. Take Fame (1980), Can’t Stop The Music (1980), Staying Alive (1983), Beat Street (1984), Breakin’ (1984), Footloose (1984), A Chorus Line (1985), Fast Forward (1985), and Dirty Dancing (1987) please. In this flick, a gorgeous 18-year-old welder named Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) works at a Pittsburgh steel mill by day and dances at a cabaret by night. As you can guess, she longs to be a professional ballerina despite the fact that she has no formal training. Luckily, Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri), the owner of the steel mill, pulls some strings to get her an audition. But she’s not too keen on accepting his help. However, Ms. Beals did get the assistance of Marine Jahan who was used as a body double for most of the dance scenes. Speaking of, we get to ogle the awesome abs and big bulge on male ballet dancer Richard Fritz thanks to his barely-there costume. Did we mention the film’s song “Flashdance... What a Feeling” won an Oscar? Although this pic was initially dissed by critics, it sold a ton of tickets. Perhaps that’s because the movie was directed by Adrian Lyne who would go on to make the sexy mega-hits 9½ Weeks (1986), Fatal Attraction (1987), Indecent Proposal (1993), and Unfaithful (2002). Obviously he has the magic touch for skinema —and Mr. Man has the magic touch for skin. What a feeling indeed!