Strictly Ballroom

Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition I hate the cover on this one. Oh well. Anyway, I could watch this movie twenty times. I probably have watched it twenty times, and every time I'd say the same thing: Excellent!

This film is an older version of the typical makeover romantic comedy (beginning weirdly as a kind of mocumentary), but with Australian ballroom dancing featuring heavily. He's an open amateur and champion, and she's a beginner, but she has the attitude he needs to be his best self.

The themes of overcoming fear and the frustrations of the older generation resonated strongly with me as an adolescent, and I recommend it to any young person on the verge of a big decision.

As filming goes, it's a dangerous proposition. The costuming, steeped in all the tackiness of eighties ballroom dancing (and Australia), can be truly off-putting. The multi-culturalism works well, though, and balances and grounds the flashiness with some real depth. The dancing is all spectacularly done, and the acting works well, too. The camera finds an occasional art-shot or slow-motion, but never anything really wild or innovative. It's a romantic comedy, and it works.

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