I was pushed into watching this film by my wife when it was on the box the other night and was glad she did as this was a fantastic film which had a real good feel factor to it.
The film is based in a tough school in New York when Pierre Dulaine takes on his biggest test yet as a dance instructor. He sets out to change the ways of troubled teens, set them on the straight and narrow and give them a goal in life. He sets about this adventure when he comes across a highly influenced teen named Rock who is caught smashing up the principle's car. Away goes Pierre, played by Antonio Banderas, who embarks on his one man mission to get these troubled kids to put their detention time to good use and learn how to dance. The storyline is pretty simple with teens from all walks of life who would rather dance to the latest hip hop joints and hardcore rap music.
We get a much clearer view of the characters' day to day struggles but mainly they focus on Rock and the lead female LaRhette who both have problems with one another and are urged to sort them out on the dance floor. There are some very powerful scenes of what these guys have to endure and how some have come about ending up on what is seen as the wrong path.
The aim to all of this dancing is for the kids to compete in a dance competition alongside more well-off and experienced dancers, and through the determination of Pierre the kids manage to get up to a standard where they will be able to compete and show off what skills they have gained.
Throughout there are many laughs as we get to see what happens when people who would not always mix do so. Relationships begin to form within the group and barriers are dropped to open up and make new friendships. Antonio plays the character of Pierre very well and the kids take to him and you feel that some of these kids start to see him as a father figure, as some of their own are not around. The level of dancing is not as high as I have seen in previous dance films but is sufficient by all actors to pass as reasonable dancers. The acting is well done by all and the roles given to each actor is well suited to there style.
I enjoyed the film throughout and did not find myself drifting away from it and my interest was kept throughout even though I'm not a big fan of dancing. Even though from the outset this film was very predictable with it being based upon a true story, so I knew what sort of film I was going to be watching and how it would pan it out, it still kept me interested and urging for the underdogs to come out on top.
I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of the underdogs, dancing and a good feel factor film, or those who like to see a true story up on the big screen. If you are a fan of films such as Coach Carter then this is one for you. So all you have to do now is get out and watch this film to see if the underdogs won anything in the competition.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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volunteers his time to teach ballroom dancing to a group of New York inner city high school kids. Initially forced to participate as a form of detention the kids reject M...
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This exciting and inspirational story lights up the screen with its raw spirit and ... more
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Sep 22nd, 2009
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