the audience applauded

That was an excellent one.

Please don't spend money on this.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Lena Horne's recording of "I got Rhythm"soars above the title sequence of "Take the lead",leaving us on no doubt that the movie is indeed about rhythm - the rhythm of the dance,the rhythm of the streets,the rhythm of the basketball courts,the New York apartments and projects......the rhythm,if you like,of life. This feeling of energy and vitality is echoed in the pacing and cutting of the movie itself,sometimes frantic,sometimes languorous,but always infused with energy,restrained or unrestrained. Mr A.Banderas's slightly rueful charm is just right for the role of Paul Dulaine who - against all odds - brought Ballroom Dancing into the New York Public Schools System.He carries himself with the grace and precision of a young Burt Lancaster and never,metaphorically or literally,puts a foot wrong.It is a brilliantly controlled performance made all the more admirable for its apparent lack of artifice. There is,as you might expect,some wonderful music and dancing,superbly choreographed. Just one small scene where one of Dulaine's pupils dances alone to Sly and the Family Stone's remarkable version of "Que Sera,Sera" is worth the price of rental alone. There is nothing remotely original or cutting edge about "Take the lead" but it is a feast for the eyes and ears with a wonderful star performance. And as Ira Gershwin once said...."who could ask for anything more?"

A good-hearted dance professor(Banderas) asks to Principal(Alfre Woodard)of a rough school the education of rebels students by the Dance-Studio, then he takes over a class of unteachable pupils(Reb Brown, DaCosta, among them).The novice teacher gradually earning respect from his pupils and he learns that turning their attitude requires an intense understanding of their hard-knock lives. Together these misfits attempt to win the championship of the ballroom. The film is based on real character , about Pierre Dulaine who appears uncredited as one of the judges for the grand ballroom competition.This well-meaning film is an enjoyable retread on two sub-genre : a)about the professor teaching unteachable teens, such as ¨Dangerous minds¨(directed by John Smith with Michelle Pffeifer),¨To sir with love¨(James Clavell with Sidney Poitier)¨Blackboard Jungle¨(Richard Brooks with Glenn Ford) along with , b) about the spectacular ballroom, including championship of dancing-saloon, such as ¨Stricly Ballroom(Baz Luhrman with Paul Mercurio),¨ Dance with me¨(Vanessa Williams and Cheyanne) and ¨Shall we dance¨(Richard Gere,Jennifer Lopez).In the film is heard and splendidly danced several dance styles: Foxtrot,Tango,Chachacha,Rumba,Vals and Salsa. Well-acted by Antonio Banderas with experience at dancing in ¨Evita¨ and excellent supporting casting with extraordinary plethora of young people who make a nice work, in spite of mostly are newcomers. The movie is well produced by Toby Emmerich and the actor Ray Liotta. The story is professionally directed by Liz Friedlander in a great debut and his only film , he's usually video-maker, as REM, Celine Dion , among others. The flick will like to Antonio Banderas fans and youthful public. Hot music and dancing, as well as the charm of the leads, make this one well worth watching for any dancer fever enthusiastic.

Formula for the teacher meets misunderstood/troubled students, where the result is positive for everyone.Take a teacher (male/female). Place said teacher in an inner city or remedial class room. Add conflict, usually due to social class difference or the fact that said kids have never gotten proper encouragement or positive attention from adult figures. Teacher then breaks down said barriers with some "forward" thinking alternative teaching methodology. The kids learn. There is usually a fall-back to previous behavior (usually caused by external school situations), followed by redemption. And this is usually based on true life events, for added drama.Now is the easy part. As we learned in algebra, we just place in the actual data to replace the variables. The teacher is Zorro himself, Antonio Banderas. There are the kids (too numerous and somewhat annoying to mention). And there's the forward thinking teaching method which would be ballroom dancing. There are numerous other movies that follow a similar path - Sydney Poitier in To Sir, With Love; Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds; Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver; The Rock in Gridiron Gang; Rhea Perlman in Sunset Park; and even Samuel L. Jackson in Coach Carter. The later entries on that list follow the same formula, except it substitutes sports for class and coach for teacher.There is nothing overly original about this movie. Even though this movie is based on actual events and Pierre Dulaine (which is inspirational in itself and commendable), does not mean I necessarily want to see the same thing rehashed with different names, places and dates. The music is decent and the dancing is average. I guess one really has to be into ballroom dancing to get a fuller appreciation. There is also nothing I like better than to be grilled by Zorro in a condescending fashion. On a side note Dante Basco really needs to invest time into getting his acting skills up to par and getting a new agent. He is almost pushing 32 and playing angst-ridden teenagers might be a bit of stretch right now. The problem I have with most of these types of movies is that the ending is gratuitous. The ending is usually somewhat if not completely happy in which something is achieved, but the full realization of turning one's life around and making something of oneself is never fully shown. For example, how does LaRhette resolve her mom's prostitution and how does Rock resolve his conflict with his alcoholic dad and not to mention with the local thug he just angered ?The only true worth of the movie would have to be Zorro's tango with actress/dancer Katya Virshilas. That was kind of hot, but I think that was mostly due to her intrinsic abilities. I would have given this movie a higher rating if it actually induced sleep, because at the time I couldn't. Instead skip this one and just watch the trailer. It includes the best scene of the movie.

In the tradition of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS, THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, TO SIR WITH LOVE, and DANGEROUS MINDS we get a new variation on the old story of a group of misfit high school students finding new motivations in life through a dedicated teacher. TAKE THE LEAD is a fact-inspired tale revolving around Pierre Dulaine, the owner of a ballroom dancing studio who, after witnessing an act of teenage vandalism, offers to teach ballroom dancing at an inner city high school. The principal tentatively agrees to let him teach the kids who are permanently in detention for the rest of the school year. Despite a preachy, cliché-filled screenplay and manic music video direction, the film is watchable because the dance sequences are positively electric, superbly choreographed by JoAnn Jansen. Antonio Banderas is charming and understated as Dulaine, the caring teacher who does manage to reach these kids until the world of these kids and the world of the students at his own school begin to collide. Banderas wisely underplays to the extremely gifted young actors chosen to play the delinquents-turned-dancers here and allows them to shine, as they should and do. Alfre Woodard also manages to make the most of a predictably-written role as the principal of the school. When the movie leaves the dance floor, it screeches to a dead halt, but every single dance sequence in the film is mesmerizing, whether it's a single student practicing by herself in a quiet boiler room or a three versus two tango challenge that is like nothing I've ever seen on screen. When the movie dances it works, when it stops dancing, be forewarned as it trots out every cliché you've ever seen in a movie about inner city high school kids, but Banderas and the dancing make it worth watching.