I first saw this movie back in 1983 when I was just fifteen years old. I think just about every teen age male had a SEVERE CRUSH on Jennifer Beals at that time , including myself. In fact , I am still enamored by how good she looks to this present day. She is now I think 42 and really has not changed at all from the pictures I saw when I went to www.Google.com. I just recently reviewed the film again a few days ago which makes it only the second time I saw it. I found it to be very illuminating and it transported me back in time. I got the same enjoyment as I did back then. True , a bit corny in some segments of the film , but what the heck , it was the 80's and thats the way it was. Although J.Beals did participate in some of the dancing scenes , the majority of the dance scenes were done by a French dancer by the name of Marine Jahan (some people do not know this). Initially , when I found out some years ago , I was a little disappointed to say the least. Make no mistake , this is an awesome film and I am still a fan of J.Beals. I have just witnessed some of her other low budget films and was impressed by her acting talents. Unfortunately , she will always be labeled with the antiquated stereotype of Alex Owens in Flashdance. I can live with that. Also , I have just recently read that she is doing a series called the L Word on Showtime. I'll have to check it out one day. Without going into to much detail , the whole thesis of the movie is built around Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) who is afraid of her ultimate dream which is to be accepted by a prestige dance acedemy in Pittsburgh. Scared to audition , she is then prompted by her boyfriend and she finally auditions and is accepted. Even if you did NOT grow up in the 80's , you will inherit some enlightment after watching this film. Finally , I think that the film exhibited a moral code of ethics to the viewers as well. Rather than dancing in some sleeze nudity bar , the main character (Alex Owens) decides not to be influenced by some other bar owner to come and dance for him. Out of all the 80's dance films that were out during the 80's decade (and there were some dumb ones), this is by far my top pick. This movie will indeed give you a little adrenaline rush after you watch it. Set a few hours aside and judge for yourself , I dont think you will be disappointed.