DVD

The Last Days of Disco. The Criterion Collection has finally brought out a DVD of Whit Stillman’s darkly witty 1998 film about the messy love lives of a group of young New Yorkers who frequent a club not unlike Studio 54. Yes, it’s funny, and yes, it’s an unsparing critique of contemporary American culture–one that’s all the more effective for having been played for laughs. In light of Stillman’s prolonged and inexplicable post-Disco silence, the reappearance on home video of the last and best installment of his indie-flick trilogy about the sexual revolution and its discontents is cause for rejoicing. What I’d really like is for him to make another movie, but since that doesn’t seem to be in the cards, I’ll settle for revisiting this one (TT).