STRICTLY BALLROOM
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Director: Baz Lurhmann Time: 96 min Country: AUSTRALIA Date: 1993 |
While
the plot of this Australian film may seem a bit familiar (the Ugly Duckling
meets Dirty Dancing), the whimsical tone and superb dance sequences will
make you forget the movie's predictability. Scott (Paul Mercurio) is a champion
ballroom dancer who wants to dance "his own steps." Fran is the
homely, beginning dancer who convinces Scott that he should dance his own
steps...with her. Complicating matters are Scott's domineering mother (Pat
Thompson), a former dancer herself, who wants her son to win the Australian Pan
Pacific Championship (the same contest she lost years ago), and a conniving
dance committee that is determined that "there are no new steps!" The
dancing is enjoyable, yet not overwhelming, and the movie strives hard not to
take itself too seriously (the beginning of the film is even styled as a
pseudo-documentary). Strictly Ballroom, while not so subtly imparting its
moral ("A life lived in fear is a life half-lived"), is a laughable
romp that's sure to be a crowd pleaser.