A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line is a 1985 American musical drama film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Michael Douglas. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the book of the 1975 stage production of the same name by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. The songs were composed by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban.

The film was released theatrically on December 13, 1985 by Columbia Pictures.

Plot
A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, sixteen hopefuls remain. Arriving late is former lead dancer Cassie who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach but left him to take a job in Hollywood. Now she has not worked in over a year, and is desperate enough for work to even just be part of the chorus line. Zach informs them that he is looking for eight dancers consisting of four men and four women. He starts by having them go down the line to introduce themselves. When Cassie asks to speak with Zach alone, his secretary escorts her out. She is stopped by Zach's choreographer, Larry, who convinces her to stay. Mike explains that his mom used to take him along to his sister's dance lessons and eventually, he started taking the class himself. Next is Bobby who tells Zach about his obsession with interior design and his time in private school. Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie recount their experiences with abusive fathers and their love for ballet. Next, Kristine and her husband Al tell Zach that Kristine cannot sing but is a wonderful dancer. Mark tells the group about a gonorrhea scare that occurred when he was younger. Greg tells Zach when he found out he was homosexual. Richie remembers his first sexual interaction in a graveyard. Meanwhile, Cassie has been sitting backstage waiting for a chance to speak with Zach and reminiscing over her days on Broadway.

Back on stage, Connie (Jan Gan Boyd) complains about how, her whole life, she remained 4'10". Diana (Yamil Borges) realizes that they went to the same high school and had the same drama teacher, Mr. Karp. Dianna tells Zach that, no matter what she did, Karp never saw her as a serious actress. Don (Blane Savage) tells everyone that he has a wife and two kids to support and that his day job is serving tables. Val (Audrey Landers) tells the group about her breast augmentation, in order to get work. Paul (Cameron English), begins to tell his story but stops when he remembers the death of his younger sister. Judy (Janet Jones) tells the group about how she shaved her bratty sister's head. Cassie enters the stage and Zach tells Larry to take all the dancers to a rehearsal room. Cassie pleads for a job but Zach tells her that she cannot fit into a line because of her previous experience as a star. In a second flashback, Zach sees a younger Cassie doing what she does best, dancing. Fed up with her presence, he sends her downstairs to learn the routine with everyone else. Paul re-enters the stage and asks Zach is he is disqualified from the audition. Paul tells him about how he grew up watching musicals on 42nd Street. He tells Zach that, during the shows, he would be molested by older men and that when he got to high school, everyone called him gay for allowing it. Paul came to the realization that he was gay and tells Zach about his first job at a drag cabaret. He admits that he lied to his parents to hide the fact that he was gay. But once, his parents arrived early to the show and saw him through the stage door wearing a dress. He tells Zach that his parents, then, disowned him for lying. Zach runs onstage and embraces Paul, showing compassion for the first time in the audition.

Larry brings the dancers back onstage to perform the newly-learned routine for Zach. However, as they repeat the combination, their inner thoughts are heard. Zach begins to shout at Cassie from the house, seeing that she cannot blend in. They argue about their past relationship while Larry leads the group in a tap combination. All of a sudden, Paul messes up in the routine and injures his knee. He is rushed to the hospital and Zach asks the dancers what they will do once they can no longer perform. Diana is the only one that can truly answer the question. She tells him that she wants to be remembered, even if it is just for dancing in a chorus. All the hopefuls seem to agree with this and Zach puts them in line one last time to decide who will be cast. Zach chooses Val, Cassie, Bebe, Diana, Mike, Mark, Richie, and Bobby to be in his line. Months later, the eight performers are seen performing "One" in front of an audience. As the song progresses, the cut dancers also appear onstage and it becomes harder to identify each dancer. The dancer's reflections from the mirror joins them and soon the stage is filled with hundreds of dancers. As the credits roll, the song's tag vamps as the dancers continue dancing in a giant Kickline.