Doc Watch: Taking Risks

STUDIO 54 (B) - This serviceable documentary captures the glitz and graft of the famed discotheque where celebrities unofficially christened the cocaine era starting in spring 1977. Ian Schrager, one of the partners at the ground floor, serves as a somewhat contrite guide to what went down four decades ago. (His more well-known partner, Steve Rubell, died during the AIDS era.)

Generous archival clips provide the flavor of the disco inferno, fueled by Page Six celebrities like Liza Minnelli and Bianca Jagger. Brooklyn pals Schrager and Rubell (and financier Jack Dushey) were pushing drugs all over the club and stuffing cash into garbage bags, hiding their actions from law enforcement authorities. By 1979, the IRS was on the case, and the party came crashing down. The men hired Roy Cohn, and the rest is corruption history.

While the headlines were juicy and the sudden downfall delicious to watch, director Matt Tyrnauer ("Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood," "Where's My Roy Cohn?") doesn't forget to capture the sheer fun of the Manhattan playground. There is an appreciation of the venue's democratic ideals, where people of all stripes (though maybe not all income levels) felt welcome in the hedonistic melting pot. The film revels in the fleeting spirit of the times -- the joy and decadence, as well as the rise and fall of a couple of gluttonous entrepreneurs.

MAIDEN (B-minus) -This documentary actually suffers from excessive archival footage. It follows the first all-woman crew as they participate in the Whitbread round-the-world yacht race in 1989-90. It seems every moment of their years-long preparation and the monthslong race were filmed, and director Alex Holmes leans heavily on that footage, interspersing clips with current-day interviews featuring the gray-haired crew members, led by Tracy Edwards.

Even at a modest 97 minutes, this story is just too long. Too much time is spent at the beginning ginning up sympathy for Edwards, whose father died when she was young, replaced by a mean stepfather. That story line is not adequately followed up.

As much as this accomplishment struck a blow for feminism, the documentary itself doesn't do much to advance the cause. The women get teary-eyed multiple times when recalling their endeavor, and the old male journalists from the time get to playfully gloss over their misogynistic coverage. I suppose this could be inspirational to young women, except the overall accomplishment just doesn't come off as overly impressive. It's tough to put this deed in perspective and accept it as much more than a one-off.