Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Strictly Ballroom (1992)



"Paso Doble....heh...Paso Doble!"-Rico

There is a certain audacity in making a movie about dance.  I can think of a score of failures that attempt to capitalize on the thrill and the edginess of dance without the plot and story to back it up. (I'm looking at you:  Save the Last Dance, Step Up, Step Up 2: The Streets, Breakin, and Breakin 2: The Electric Boogaloo. Oh and I just saw this trailer for a movie about to make the same mistakes. 1  You are guilty of being schlocky films that only seek to drive spectacle and fashion for the purposes of youth marketing and pseudo rebellion.)

And then there is Strictly Ballroom. A throwback to the ballroom era. A slightly fantasized romanticized look at the audacious world of competitive ballroom in Australia. A movie that makes you, the viewer, want to dance-not just watch those that are talented.  I think that Baz Luhrmann got the mixture right in that the cuts need to be organic to the music. I think that the over the top evilness of Barry Fife set the stage for true impassioned rebellion.

On a scale of disqualification to forcibly ejected from the dance floor for blowin the roof off the place, I give Strictly Ballroom 3.7 out of 5 stars.

oh and @Boa from the link:  I wish you the best in your film.  I enjoy your work. but I have severely low expectations.          

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