Strictly Ballroom

If you are a fan of Baz Luhrman films this is a good one--maybe his best. Baz produced this as a live show and, based upon audience reactions, re-fashioned it until audiences went crazy for it. Then he made the film. It is his most widely crowd pleasing film to date. Some may like or dislike any one of his films, but practically everyone falls for this one. In essence, it is a modern day Australian Cinderella story. A young dancer, in line for the ballroom dancing competition crown, keeps adding new and crowd pleasing dance steps which are not approved by the dancing federation. He keeps being warned to stop and use only approved dance steps, but he simply can't limit himself to dance steps which could be learned and mastered by anyone who takes up dancing lessons (which is why the federation approves them--because anyone who takes up ballroom dancing CAN learn them). He can do things ordinary dancers can't do and refuses to limit himself to the lowest common denominator of dancers who can't perform his steps. In frustration, his dance partner leaves him to dance in the competition with another, more conservative, champion who won't keep rocking the boat the way he always does. Enter Fran: A plain looking, far less talented student being instructed at his mother's dance studio. She wants to dance in the competition with him and he agrees--to everyone's consternation. As the two of them practice their hearts out, we learn of his mother and father's past--his father lost the same battle of wills with the federation in a competition years earlier, and gave up professional ballroom dancing because of it. We also learn of Fran's family history and what she has given up to dance. As the two young dancers begin to look as though they might actually have a chance, they begin falling for each other and one federation judge starts stacking the deck against the two of them. It's an underdog story, a Cinderella story, a musical (in it's way), a romance, a comedy and a heck of a feel-good movie in the end. This was the breakthrough film that launched Baz Luhrman's filmaking career.

My daughter introduced this movie to me 20+ years ago & we both love it. I gave her a copy this past Christmas & ii's a very nice copiy of the movie. If you like a movie with romance, filled with comedy, young adults trying to break away from their parents goals for them to reach their goals for them. Well then you will love this movie too..Two young adults from two very differnt kinds of lives & against all odds, finding each other while having the same dreams for their lives & reaching their shared goals together...well then you will love this wonderful & a little bit crazy movie. I know my daughter & her two roommates did while each pursuing their own individul goals at Texas A&M college, Texas...and they did. Life is about our ownindivual goasl, or one you can share with someone else.

Baz Luhrmann’s unforgettable début feature film, an unlikely hit at the Cannes International Film Festival when it was first screened in May 1992, belongs to a handful of DVDs that my family will re-watch religiously over the winter holidays, year after year, without even becoming bored by the experience. Why? Because the film's fairy tale qualities, amazingly over-the-top dance numbers, nostalgia rich, MTV-era soundtrack, and memorable cast of Australian and immigrant characters never seem to get old. It’s like Sound of Music, but vastly better, especially when it comes to Generation X viewers and their progeny. Here's the holiday viewing list in its entirety: Strictly Ballroom, The Muppet Movie, Sideways, My Neighbor Totoro, Little Miss Sunshine, Goodbye Lenin, and Waking Ned Devine. Quite an eclectic mix, I grant you, but each of the films has such feel-good (and family friendly) cinematic energy that you can’t help but laugh, cry, and celebrate the sheer audaciousness and extreme artistry of the directors, actors, set designers, cinematographers, and producers who willed movies like these into existence. I mean, what were the odds that such ugly duckling movies would even get made, let alone sold years later as DVDs on Amazon? It boggles the mind. Strictly Ballroom may be particularly well suited for viewing with younger children and adolescents schooled on reality TV shows like “Dancing with the Stars” or who have never seen an Australian movie from the early 90s. The colors, the accents, the sheer fantasy of it all - simply stunning. Cyndi Lauper's “Time after Time," covered by Mark Williams and Tara Morice, never sounded better, not have I ever wanted to dance to Doris Day's "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" as much as when watching the lead actors practice their dance moves on rooftops, in studios, and while Spanish guitar players strum and strut on a forlorn backyard patio in the railroad district of town. And John Paul Young's "Love is in the Air" makes you want to relive your young adulthood all over again, as if there were not a single cynical bone in your world-weary body. It’s not so much that Baz alluded to fairy tales like the Ugly Duckling and Cinderella in this, his first film from the "Red Curtain Trilogy," as that he actually created an original and timeless fairy tale of his own making. It’s the most autobiographical of his movies, and the one with the greatest staying power. It will strike you like a flash of lightning when you first watch it, so set the stage extremely well. Choose a big screen. Light a fire and collect lots of blankets and pillows. Pour a glass of sparkling wine (and chill a second bottle in the fridge). Hold hands with someone you adore – and settle in for an emotional thrill ride that will leave you breathless!

This is a real magical experience movie. A one of a kind experience! It is not just about dancing, but about personal growth and transformation through love. It is a love story most of all. In this high-energy movie, a young woman who looks rather homely helps the lead actor dance his own steps at the Grand Nationals. He wants to dance his own way and not follow the very tight rules of Ballroom dancing. Everyone thought he was crazy to dance his own steps, except this woman. When she approached him to offer her help at first he thought she was joking because he was a professional and she was merely a beginner. She told him he is afraid and that caught his attention. Her moto, and the moto of this film is: "A life lived in fear is a life half lived." It is a true metaphor for life and in breaking out of the mold setup for us by society and everyone else. With risk taking and following our hearts, we find something deeper and more beautiful then we ever imagined. She shows him some Latin movies he really likes and slowly they learned to dance their own way that was truly beautiful and much different then traditional Ballroom dancing. As they danced together, little by little, the woman transformed into a true beauty. Her believing in him and herself caused her to become more then what she was. There was so much pressure on this young man to succeed and follow the rules that he almost gave in, but her love changed everything. The walls came down at the Grand Nationals and they danced their way- a beautiful elegant, simple Latin dance that had the audience jumping out of their seats in awe. In the end everyone joined in and it was an amazing thing to see! I find this movie to be a very good psychological lesson of following your heart, to stop living in fear even though everyone and everything seems to be against what you know in your heart to be right for you. And by breaking the rules, amazing things can happen for not just you, but the whole society as well. A truly amazing movie with a beautiful message. A one of a kind rare film that will always be my personal favorite.

Simple, tongue-in-cheek, sweetly romantic and joyful. With ballroom dancing that is heartfelt and so much more wonderful than the coldly stylized ballroom dancing you now see on TV. My introduction to the marvelous Baz Luhrman.

I loved this story and I loved the dancing. Well acted, well written, and well choreographed. I watched it straight through twice and have watched several of the dance scenes over and over without getting tired of it. The only issue was the editing; there are several story elements that are left dangling. I thought the movie needed an extra 15 minutes to wrap up storylines that didn't get a resolution. It kind of took away from an otherwise wonderful movie. STRICTLY BALLROOM is an overall clean movie. There is a sweet romance played out in this tale but there is no nudity or sexual content. There are one or two instances of bad language, but it goes by so fast that you hardly catch it before it is gone. No violence at all, except the emotional violence that is brewed in a highly competitive and sometimes corrupt atmosphere. This is a movie about one guy struggling with an establishment that will not change or improve. The lead character is not perfect, but he learns and grows throughout a situation that makes him a better dancer and a better person. It is exciting and you will be rooting for the hero all the way through. Overall, I highly recommend it.

Let's do the technical stuff first. First DVD release was horrible. Video was washed out and audio was not great. Probably rushed out when film started to take off in the mid 90's. It had a minor success when released in Australia in 1992. People there knew of it and it developed a "cult" following...and launched Baz Luhrmann's directorial career. Australian movies are light on sets and are mainly shot on location, so some of the "inside" angles, lighting and composition aren't Hollywood. Video quality in later releases was much better, the latest DVD relase has brilliant colors and the audio is digitized. All in all a DVD of respectable quality. (Get the DVD in the case showing a red curtain) I have not yet seen the blu-ray version. Vendors are holding it hostage at about US$25.00..so I'll wait. Now, the story & its production. I worked with video in the TV news biz for 50 years so I know a little bit abut film techniques that might help you along in your understanding of how certain "feelings" are extracted from the audience. Luhrmann starts off the movie with a musical flourish, swirling colors and good music (he's got your eye now)...then segues into a semi-documentary style with several of the actors talking in soundbites ala local TV to help set up the story(now you understand the story and its emotional base). And its a story of the intense competition in amateur dance in Australia. If you fear soccer moms and their intensity or Little League dads...well you get the idea. The fact that young Scott is a rebellious lad who has tremendous talent, but no desire to dance the steps dictated by Australian Dance Federation rules...has his mother and partner upset to the point of tears. Enter Fran, a rookie student at the same dance school where Scott's the number one male dancer. Luhrmann is sneaky. He and crew do some neat things to make their story move along and help you see that the two main characters are the core of the story...and help you figure out that there's more going on between Scott and Fran than a tango or two. Notice that all the other dance pairs are looking away from each other when they dance, while Scott and Fran are always looking at each other. Tells you right away where their focus is. Notice how, at the beginning, Fran really is an ugly duckling. (Morice played her role without makeup it seems for the first third of the movie--that takes guts). Then her hair settles down, the makeup goes on and she becomes a really nice looking girl...not sexy, but like many attractive girls....certainly someone any of us merely human males could find and get acquainted with at a high school dance. And with that change, and her determination, the audience falls for Fran in her quest...first to dance with Scott, even though she's a rookie....and then her increasing infatuation with him. Reviewers said the movie had Australian women crying and Australian men joining dance clubs. You'll love the movie. It's now somehwerre in my top five all time, along with Casablanca, The third Man, Lawrence of Arabia and Bourne 3. And it needs a sequel. Fran & Scott need to complete their relationship. Other notes: Paul Mercurio (Scott)is currently hosting a cooking show, and is a judge in the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars. Tara Morice, Fran, is still an actress. She has had minor parts in several Lurhmann productions and larger parts in a couple of other movies and on Australian TV. Before Strictly Ballroom she had never danced professionally. She also sings one of the songs on the soundtrack which is worth owning. Mercurio is the son of an American-turned-Australian charactor actor you saw in Crocodile Dundee. He is a dancer by trade who had never acted till Strictly Ballroom. By the way, he finished the big ending scene on a badly sprained ankle.

Romantic comedy with a huge heart. The words “charming” and “heartwarming” don’t fully capture it. And the actual subject matter, ballroom dancing and related music is icing on the cake, even though I didn’t know much about those subjects before. As a compliment, I’d also say the movie is among top of the list of this Aussie genre…they really nail this type of movie.