Righteous Rental Reco #2: Strictly Ballroom

Can I bend your ear for a tick?  At the risk of losing all the male readers out there, I gotta say that I am a sucker for dance movies.  I know, I know!  Could I BE any more girly?  I find them simultaneously comforting and motivational.  It's probably because I grew up in a house where Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies were de rigueur.  Whatever the reason, though, I can't get enough of them.  I watch them all.  Even the really bad ones.  Even the really, REALLY bad ones.  I am fascinated by people who can manipulate their bodies so deftly.  And yeah, men who can dance are super sexy.  (Male readers take note!).  But there is one movie that is so funny, so sexy, so...perfect that it not only qualifies as the best dance movie out there, but quite possibly the best movie ever...Strictly Ballroom.

I've been watching this movie for so long that I'm constantly surprised by the number of people who haven't seen it.  Released in 1992, I think it got lost in the hullabaloo of such blockbusters as A Few Good Men, Batman Returns, and Bram Stoker's Dracula.  Certainly, it's nothing like them.  Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it's a quirky little Australian movie that's more along the lines of the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap or the offbeat Muriel's Wedding than anything else.  Frankly, I don't think that the general movie-going public truly appreciated the tongue-in-cheek humour of the movie.

The movie tells the story of Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) who has been training in ballroom dance since he was six years old.  He is very talented, but gets in trouble with the dance officials when he wants to dance his own steps, steps that aren't - say it with me - strictly ballroom.  He loses his dance partner, and is approached by a beginner, Fran (Tara Morice) who reveals that she makes up her own steps too.  Scott agrees to dance with her in the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix until he finds out that his dad tried to do his own steps at the very same competition, lost, and went soft in the head as a result.

Luhrmann's colourful, over the top directorial style is like candy for the eyes - every moment is a delicious treat.  It's hard to believe that people like this exist, and yet they are so fantastical, that they come off as utterly believable.  There's so much to like in this movie, from the witty dialogue, to the kooky characters to the seamless dancing that I am hard-pressed to find something I don't like in this film.  Plus, the final dance scene is so heart-stoppingly sexy that I think I wore out the rewind button on my VCR when I first saw it.

I think what attracts me the most to this film is the character Fran.  Her story is typical - almost formulaic - unnoticed girl speaks up, gets makeover and makes it big, winning the hearts of all.  You've seen it in many movies.  Morice, however, manages to make it feel fresh and different.  She's a lovely blend of vulnerability and strength that makes you warm to her right away.  It helps, though, that the character is well written, an actor's dream.  Certainly, I would kill for the role.

So if you're in the mood for an underdog-makes-good movie that is familiar, and yet completely surprising, check it out.  And make note of what chapter the final Paso Doble is in - you'll want to watch that one again.  And again.  If you have a pulse..

Seen this movie and want more?  You might like:

For Dance:  Shall We Dance? (1996)

For Humour:  Best in Show

For Director:  Moulin Rouge!

*Photo Source:  Fox Movies (Australia)

Comments

[Don Mills Diva]

I LOVE Strictly Ballroom!

Hubby worked on Shall We Dance? (the 2003 version) with Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere and also Take The Lead so we have both gotten pretty into dancing and can do a mean foxtrot and cha-cha if I do say so myself...

[motherbumper]

I can say that I never had any interest in watching this but you are the zillionth person to recommend it. I loooved Moulin Rouge and my first date was This is Spinal Tap so I think this deserves a spin.