Flashdance is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne. It stars Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer Alex who aspires to become a professional ballerina. Michael Nouri plays Alex Owens' boyfriend and the owner of the steel mill where she works by day in Pittsburgh. The film opened to negative reviews by professional critics, including Roger Ebert, who panned it as "great sound and flashdance, signifying nothing"