Editing John Travolta (section)

===1980s ===
[[File:John T color 01.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Travolta in 1983]]

Travolta followed up ''[[Urban Cowboy]]'' with a starring role in [[Brian de Palma]]'s 1981 film ''[[Blow Out]]'', which was critically lauded but a box office disappointment, likely due to its bleak ending.<ref name="Bouzereau">{{cite book |last=Bouzereau |first=Laurent |title=The De Palma Cut: The Films of America's Most Controversial Director |publisher=Dembner Books |year=1988 |location=New York |isbn=0-942637-04-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/depalmacutfilmso00bouz }}</ref> After ''Blow Out'' came a series of commercial and critical failures which sidelined Travolta's acting career. These included ''[[Two of a Kind (1983 film)|Two of a Kind]]'' (1983), a romantic comedy reuniting him with [[Olivia Newton-John]], and ''[[Perfect (1985 film)|Perfect]]'' (1985), co-starring [[Jamie Lee Curtis]]. He also starred in ''[[Staying Alive (1983 film)|Staying Alive]]'', the 1983 sequel to ''Saturday Night Fever'', for which he trained rigorously to portray a professional dancer and lost {{convert|20|lb|kg}};<ref>{{Cite news |title='Staying Alive' Revives Travolta |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/10/arts/staying-alive-revives-travolta.html |first=Stephan |last=Farber |date=July 10, 1983|newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> the film was a financial success, grossing over $65&nbsp;million, though it, too, was scorned by critics.

During that time, Travolta was offered, but declined, lead roles in what would become box-office hits, including ''[[American Gigolo]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/highconcept-high-roller-1317555.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220613/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/highconcept-high-roller-1317555.html |archive-date=June 13, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=High-concept high roller |work=The Independent |first=Kevin |last=Jackson |date=February 6, 1996 |access-date=August 26, 2009 | location=London}}</ref> and ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]'', both of which went to [[Richard Gere]], as well as ''[[Splash (film)|Splash]]'', which went to [[Tom Hanks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/john-travolta-goes-the-whole-hog-with-his-new-hit-movie-443516.html |title=John Travolta goes the whole Hog with his new hit movie |work=The Independent |date=April 6, 2007 |access-date=August 26, 2009 |location=London |archive-date=November 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113195100/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/john-travolta-goes-the-whole-hog-with-his-new-hit-movie-443516.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1989, Travolta starred with [[Kirstie Alley]] in ''[[Look Who's Talking]]'', which grossed $297&nbsp;million, making it his most successful film since ''Grease''.