Truly Dreadful Film

ridiculous rating

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I'm ripping off another reviewer's title for "Lisbon Story" (the original "good for the soul" movie), but I can't think of a better description for "Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School."I won't even get into the plot except to say that it's at times surprisingly dark, surprisingly uplifting, surprisingly tense, and just overall surprising. It deals with themes of devastating loss, rediscovery, pain, anger, violence, and confusion but in a way that gets your toes tapping to the Lindy Hop. Watch the movie, and that'll make sense.If you've gotten past the supercilious title, which doubtlessly scares off anyone in the mood for Saw VIII, and you've gotten as far as the 3rd paragraph of this review which includes supercilious words like "supercilious", then I think you'll get it. This is a movie which explores the veneer of charm which we often use to cloak a deeper ugliness in our lives. But it doesn't do it sarcastically; it actually points out how an occasional ballroom dance may, occasionally, be the cure for the horrors that we experience.It's no surprise that the filmmakers managed to snare an all star cast, because this is the kind of movie that actors (who aren't solely obsessed with money) would eagerly jump into. Award winning talent like John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, and some of my personal favorites like Ernie Hudson (The Crow, Ghostbusters) and Donnie Wahlberg (the aforementioned Saw movies) as well as a cameo by Danny Devito really bring this story to life. And of course there's the main character played by Robert Carlyle, an actor whom I'm not familiar with but I'll forever remember his performance here.As for the dancing itself, no, it's not really a showcase of fancy footwork (for that, you should check out the awesome Aussie flick "Strictly Ballroom") although Donnie Wahlberg does some impressive moves as the hilarious cheeseball Baryshnikov wannabee who needs to button his shirt back above his navel. This is really a human story with elements of romcom, elements of tragedy, elements of suspense, and regardless of how it turns out "good for the soul."

I am not a film maker or film student, just like movies and watch way more than I should. This is not the type of movie I would generally watch but because I like Robert Carlyle I gave it a chance. I am glad I did.I forgive the fact there are no great dancers in the film as it isn't about dance and most in the classes are students, children, older...in essence, they aren't dancers and most are probably not there to become expert dancers.It IS a movie that looks to tug at the heartstrings and manipulate the emotions but most movies are trying to illicit a response, an emotional reaction, of some kind. This movie did a good job.Personally I had a hard time investing emotionally in this movie but it gradually weakened my resolve and I started caring about the characters.Indeed it is an older short film encapsulated in an updated shell and secondary story but to be honest, the characters (and a few were real characters), anachronisms and all, were still just as interesting and was worked into the new overarching story quite well.Any weakness of this story, this project, was ably work around by a great cast that did seem to immerse themselves in their roles. Its not a perfect film, it overtly tugs at the heartstrings, sappy, some comedy. I recommend it but it certainly isn't going appeal to all.I wish they had credited 'freeway' the boombox button pusher...it was a funny touch, one of a few minor quirky characters both modern and flashback, little touches that added to the enjoyment of the movie.

I never saw this in the theatre but caught it recently on STARZ. Like Steve, I'm a Southern California boy(Ventura-born)and lived in Pasadena for eight years. But this film touched me as a There-But-For-The-Grace-Of-God story.I grew up in Northern California and saw my wife for the first time on her mother's 51st birthday, Feb. 17,1968, crossing the intersection of Telegraph and Durant Aves in Berkeley. I was not quite 14 and she was dressed in a black silk top hat, long black velvet cape and dress. That girl became the physical template for every girl I'd ever be attracted to.Over the next 21 years, I went through junior high and high school, joined the Navy and hunted the Great Steel Whales, got married and had two children with a woman I knew I didn't love. I was working in San Francisco for A.T.&T. in the 1980's and started riding the Vallejo ferry into San Francisco in the summer of 1989, the same company my Dad had worked for as a deck hand at the time I saw her. Although I didn't know it at the time, the first person I met on the boat that day was her, 21 years later, sitting in my favorite seat outside.We started talking and found out we were both budding writers. Over the next few months, we read each other's work and started writing a spy novel together. We were also both trapped in bad marriages. Then three things happened to me in the last months on 1989. The first was cutting off a killer called the 580 shooter on the Oakland Freeway one midnight going to work. Then 6 weeks later the Loma Prieta Quake hit and while she was on the pier, I headed back into work and kept long-distance phone service working through the emergency. By this time she had confessed her feelings to me and I was hit out of left field. While I processed that, I had to realize that the only time I looked forward to in the day was the time I spent with her. The final straw occurred on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.They had repaired the cable cars by then and we got free cable cars with the ferry pass. We would walk to the California Street cable car from the ferry, hop aboard and ride up to Kearney St. where I would get off. She would continue up to Stockton St. where she would get off. That Wednesday, my daughter was sick so I stayed home to care for her. So, the cable car didn't stop at Kearney and made the light. Forty seconds later, a 50-ton construction crane collapsed into the intersection of California and Kearney, killing six people. When we talked next, we left together. It wasn't until a month later that she told me she used to hang out in Berkeley in the same place, time and wearing the same clothes I had seen her in that day. And if we hadn't had the courage to stand up for love, I would have never known it.That was 19 years ago and we have never been apart since. This film reminds me of what might have happened had I not had the courage that day. The fact that I've driven many of the streets on which the story is set and recognize most of the locations is a special bonus for me.

Found this gem in Hollywood Video today. What a sweet, uplifting film. Watched the movie, followed by the director's cut. (And, yes, Elden, I listened until all three of you stopped talking.) It's always helpful to know the director's intention after seeing a film. Makes for a more complete experience. The director's point of view often helps to verify I didn't miss key points in the story. This was one of the best director's reviews because Randall Miller and friends explained the variations in lighting between three different parts of the film, and discussed how they were able to assemble such an impressive cast. Loved the film. Bravo!