Haunted by Spirit of Boogie

The Scene: The Arena Club in Hollywood Monday night at the premiere party for “The Spirit of ‘76,” a time travel comedy about the all-too-recent past. The movie, from Commercial Pictures, is set in the era of boogie fever and the Ford-Carter debates, and stars ‘70s icons David Cassidy and Leif Garrett. Nearly 1,000 people showed up in their worst vintage 1976 outfits to do the bump and the Latin hustle, but a lot of the guests looked as if they were too young to remember “Laverne and Shirley,” much less Spiro Agnew.

Who Was There: Two of the film’s stars, Leif Garrett and Olivia d’Abo (who brought her current boyfriend, Julian Lennon); writer/director Lucas Reiner; producer Susie Landau; as well as Nicolas Cage, Francis Ford Coppola, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, deejays Gary Owens and Brian Phelps, Ricki Lake and Dweezil Zappa.

Dress Code: Afro wigs, spangled tights, wide belts, wide lapels and neckties wide enough for Bozo the Clown. Also spotted were platform shoes, white suits, dress shirts made out of the American flag, sloppy felt hats and bell-bottom pantsuits--solid proof that good taste took a holiday in the 1970s. Some people even wore that ultimate ‘70s accessory, the bandanna tucked casually in the back pocket.

Chow: A buffet provided sushi and shrimp, while waiters in leisure suits worked the crowd, serving great American junk food like Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Sno-Balls, popcorn and the ultimate ‘70s snack--Pop Rocks, the candy that explodes in your mouth.

Pastimes: Dancing under a mirrored ball and fog machine to songs like “Shake Your Booty,” “I Love the Nightlife” and “Funkytown.” Watching the go-go dancers--who all looked like Teresa Graves in “Get Christie Love”--go go. Trying to figure out the gender of the person wearing the feather boa.

Quoted: Writer/director Lucas Reiner said his ultimate ‘70s memory was “sitting in a circle of about 15 people, passing around a bong and listening to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ ”

Triumphs: Could it be? A motion picture premiere party that wasn’t overcrowded? Party organizers kept the guest list to a reasonable size, and the prospect of having enough oxygen to go around was enough to make everybody extremely grateful. And, despite disco music’s deservedly bad rap, it must be stated that the dance floor was packed all night.

Glitches: The buffet (and the Pop Rocks) ran out quickly, leaving nothing for hungry disco animals to eat except sugary snack cakes. Try washing down a giant pink Sno-Ball with a beer.