Top 75 awesome things about Flashdance

Well, this entry doesn't have much to do with cooking, but I just had to write about Flashdance after seeing it for the first time today.

I actually own a copy of this movie. It's one of about 10 DVDs I own. Yep — Howards End and Flashdance are the bookends of my DVD collection. (My ex-boyfriend gave Flashdance to me when we were together, for reasons I won't go into here.)

This DVD has been sitting on the shelf for more than two years. Today was finally the day when I thought, "Yes. Today is Flashdance day."

As you might have guessed, I was bowled away by this film and its boatload of awesome '80s movie stereotypes. Here's what I love about this movie:
- The fact that the heroine is a hard-working, cheerful, charming, model-gorgeous welder and exotic dancer
- The fact that the male counterpart is a very attractive single man with no commitment issues
- The fact that the male counterpart drives a Porsche, lives in a gigantic mansion, and is rich
- The fact that the movie is loaded with legwarmers and leotards
- The fact that it involves multiple utterly awesome montage sequences
- The fact that the filmmaker was obsessed with Jennifer Beals' ass (her butt gets almost as much time on screen as her face)
- The fact that the run-down burger shack where our heroine dances apparently sets aside 95% of its annual operating budget to provide dancers with lavish sets, lighting, props and costumes for specific dances (note: YouTube clip involves strobe lights and mime make-up. See also: the first superbly awesome exotic club song and dance, and the later superbly awesome "Man Hunt" song and dance)
- The fact that the heroine has a heart of gold and high moral standards (for example, it's not appropriate for her to date a superior, or for her friends to work at a strip club)
- The fact that choreography for the final dance involves a clever blend of ballet, Jazzercise, club dancing, gymnastics, and hardcore breakdancing
- The fact that the heroine is not classroom trained in any of these dance forms, but nonetheless delivers a flawless performance
- The fact that everything works out perfectly in the end and that the movie ends with a freeze frame. Bonjour, perfection.

So, two thumbs up for Flashdance and everything about it. Why can't life be more like this movie?