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Back Shelf Beauties
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Take The Lead One of last year's biggest documentary success stories was Mad Hot Ballroom, the inspirational tale of how ballroom dance instruction, started by Pierre Dulaine, in New York City's poorest and most challenging neighborhood schools was impacting young people who might have ended up with the wrong crowds. Now, they've adapted it into a fictional story, added high school kids, Antonio Banderas and sexy dancing (I didn't say that was an awesome idea, it's just what they did). Antonio Banderas stars as Pierre Dulaine - an accomplished dance teacher in New York City. One night, he witnesses a high school student, Rock (Rob Brown), vandalizing his principal's, Mrs. James (Alfre Woodard), car after a confrontation at the school dance. Pierre returns to the school the following Monday offering to teach a free dance class to help give the students some direction, while learning about respect, cooperation and dedication. Mrs. James and the other teachers are doubtful he will last more than a day, but Pierre shocks them as he inspires the kids in detention to train for a major ballroom dancing competition. However, can he get through to Rock? Will the kids be able to get ready in time for the big competition? Will Pierre's methods be enough to get through to the troubled youngsters? Anyone with a reasonable amount of exposure to movies could predict where this one was going just from the description above, but Banderas and crew make it an entertaining, even if predictable, ride. We're going to see the inevitable clash of cultures, the way they all learn from each other and the breaking down of boundaries as they mature and start to appreciate each other. Writer Dianne Houston fills the movie with every cliché plotline and inspirational mantra you can imagine including Banderas spouting lines about how people can get what they want as long as they show up to get it. Normally, such unoriginal stories and dialogue would fall flat, but Houston does a fine job fleshing out the characters so we care about them, even if the story sounds a little too after school specialish. Director Liz Friedlander expertly draws out our emotions in each scene, especially the thrilling dance numbers. These scenes bring out the passion, frustration and pent up energy each character feels, while Friedlander also highlights the intensity of troubles the main characters face at home with tension filled showdowns that shape each one's future, made more important and memorable, and less staged, to us than they could have been in a lesser director's hand. Even the story about the rich girl, Caitlin (Lauren Collins), who needs extra help to prepare for a society event, works because she is yet another outcaste we can relate to and root for. However, the cast is Take The Lead's biggest asset. While some characters fall into stereotypes, and those actors seem to ham it up a bit too much (I'm looking at you Jonathan Malen as Kurd - our comic relief lothario), the movie's lead trio of Brown, Yaya DaCosta and Banderas keep our interest. Yes, Banderas just plays Banderas in his portrayal of Pierre, but he's so charming it's fun to watch. He fills Pierre with a good heart, intense passion and earnestness of purpose. Banderas makes you feel Pierre's love for dancing and his desire to do something important, even when the odds area against him. Brown is fine as the tough kid facing trouble, great intensity in the showdowns with authority figures, but also shows some sensitivity when he mends fences with an old rival, who becomes much more as the movie rolls along. DaCosta, openly mocked by me before the movie started because she is a former contestant on America's Next Top Model, comes through showing Lahrette's determination in the face of a bad home life, and made me take back all of the mean jokes (Sorry, Yaya). Take The Lead has some familiar steps, but gives you a reason to smile and dance as the movie concludes. 2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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