Strictly Ballroom (1992)

I sure enjoyed it despite the complete lack of explosions or car chases.

Where I'm coming from: I'm a 54 year old male who has danced for 15 years. My girlfriend has danced since she was 3. We don't compete because it would make our relaxing hobby a pressured nightmare (and, frankly, because I'm not very good). My daughter competed and did very well.

Some reviewers apparently missed that this movie is a satire and it's supposed to be dumb and funny. Having sat through more competitions than I can count, I can state this movie hits the nail on the head. The parents, the kids, the beginners, the prima donnas...it's all true. Yes, it's really campy and schmaltzy, the plot has holes you could drive a truck through, the acting is sometimes marginal, but we both enjoyed it and laughed out loud.

And what's the best part of this movie? The dancing. It is photographed and edited such that you can really see and enjoy the dancing without having constant cutaways to the judges or the audience (as in current American TV dance competitions. I don't know about you, but I watch dance shows for the dancing).

There are no deep plot twists to be analyzed, no characters I need to understand better...but we definitely plan to watch this again because the dancing is really good.

If you liked this, you will enjoy Best in Show.

Fmovies: From beginning to end. Wow. This is the best Baz Luhrmann film, without a doubt. I've seen it maybe half a dozen times. The characters are hilarious, but even the most obvious parodies are real. They're all so absorbed in their crazy, strange, fantastic world of dancing, you can't help but get absolutely involved in what transpires onscreen. Fran's (Morice) 'transformation' is done very well, and she is possibly the only sane person in a world of over-the-top loons. Scott (Mercurio) is astoundingly handsome and believably self-involved. Go see it!

This was nothing like I expected at first. It's got the frenetic sense of humour that most Australian films of the period exuded, for one thing. And it's not a simple boy-meets-girl-and-they-dance story...that's the heart of it, but there's a lot of weirdness along the way. Basically, it's in-fighting backstage at Come Dancing. It begins Baz Luhrmann's ascent to greatness. And it features a truly odd performance from Barry Otto as Scott's father.

Strictly Ballroom fmovies. Baz Lurhman's first film is a piece of film that is worthy of more that it is given. It is absolutely cheesy in every way shape and form, however you love it more because of this. The attention to detail in the direction is fantastic, each scene is done with glistening sense of bewilderment and beauty. The acting is very plausible and energetic, the dance is done with with verve and style. The music fits in well within the story. From the beginning it's all very heart warming, but the end scene gave me tingles up and down my arm. It's an enjoyable film, but at times you wonder whether your feeling bewildered, entertained or thrilled.

What ever you feel for this film, you cannot put it down for the stylised direction, and the extravagant behaviour of the characters.

See if you like Moulin Rouge, Dirty dancing or Romeo and Juliet.

*original review written by me at 15, re-written at 22*

Of all the reviews I wrote in my teens this has to be my favourite, namely because I still whole-heartedly love this film. I called it cheesy, but I'm retracting this its not cheesy, its flamboyant and its flamboyant in the best possible way. Strictly Ballroom will alienate some with how over-the-top the whole thing is, but there is no denying that this makes it all the more engaging.

Like a fantasy film, it manages to take you to a new world. It takes you to a place only film and(to lesser extent)stage can take you. Strictly Ballroom gives you a window to look through, a world of dance and instead of tentatively peering through it, forces you right up against it, where a sea of multicoloured dresses and sequins lie.

Strictly Ballroom is a all hands on deck movie that will either leave you wide-eyed and bewildered or alienated and scared. But whatever it ends up leaving you, I would highly recommend watching if you have not already seen it. And this is coming from me 7 years later, as an adult, a film-making student and someone who isn't usually a fan of this kind of film.

The first time I saw Strictly Ballroom I tuned in accidentally to the grand climax while flipping through my cable channels: I was transfixed, and when the ten minutes was over I felt emotionally spent and stimulated at the same time, as if some door had been opened in my psyche. I knew I had to find the movie and watch it in its entirety. Now, fifteen viewings, a VHS tape, audio tape, and music CD of SB later, I happened upon it again tonight (interspliced with Sister Act by Emile Ardolino...), and I again watched the grand climax, with a bit of lead-in, with my wife and young sons. It was just as emotional and powerful as the first time, and I cried yet again. This is a very very special film. Baz Luhrman takes risks that most directors would not dare to, and his movies work because he gets to the heart of the matter, gets to the truth. In this case, the truth is "To thine own self be true", a familiar message told in a fresh and wonderful way. Bravo.

This is a very stylized film, a lot of fun, a lot of great dancing. Some of the costumes and performances, within the scope of the plot, are almost painful, yet appropriate. And the upshot of the whole thing is a message we wish we could all live by, every day. I relate to the ugly duckling storyline, and also enjoy the attractive male star! There are characters you love to hate and those who step up when you didn't think they would. The flashbacks are very quirky/funny. I'm sure in Australia this ballroom dancing stuff is taken deadly seriously, so Luhrman probably took a hit for lampooning it the way he does. But the whole thing is a good time that ends up having unexpectedly warm, deep meaning, and not many movies these days can say that.