an entertaining 2 hours awaits the audience in this film set in the early 80's . 
sevigny and beckinsale play disco chicks alice and charlotte , who are on the lookout for love . 
alice is mousy , shy , intellectual , charlotte is bitchy , out-going and fun . 
we join their adventures as they go through a variety of adventures , and men , all to the background of the local disco . 
whit stillman has both written and directed an interesting and believable story . 
alice and charlotte are both well written characters , and the actresses who play them aren't bad aswell . 
sevigny delivers an honest performance , and makes the audience feel for her character . 
beckinsale plays extreme bitch personified , yet her character never becomes completely unlikeable . 
the huge supporting cast also play a part in making sure this movie is thoroughly entertaining . 
the dialogue is sharp and well written , with many funny set pieces . 
for example , there's a great discussion about lady & the tramp by the main characters . 
the disco tunes playing in the background also make sure that this admittedly long film is good fun . 
the direction is good , bringing out the drama and comedy in the scenes . 
but their are slight flaws with the movie . 
firstly , although it is supposedly set in the 80's , the characters are very , very 90's . 
the way they dress and act have a very 90's feel to them . 
although the male hairstyles look slightly 80's , frankly the 80's atmosphere just wasn't conveyed , which is a shame . 
also , as mentioned above , the film is too long , and some parts do lag . 
the charm of the characters do help these moments , but generally the editing could of been a bit tighter . 
the plot also side-tracks into a silly cocaine dealing bust , which seemed out of place in this movie . 
finally , their are almost too many characters in the film , and despite the running time , the film never really spends enough time on them . 
some of the characters are very slight , which is a shame . 
the conclusion , while funny , is also surprisingly weak , and certainly not strong enough . 
but despite these qualms , the last days of disco is a funny , warm movie , which is certainly worth seeing , and is a fitting homage to the disco era of the 80's . 
worth a look . 
overall rating= 
review by david wilcock ? 1998 
 " you know , for kids " - norville barnes