A Forgotten Treat (Strictly Ballroom (DVD))

Member Name: pjs21

Product:	Strictly Ballroom (DVD)
Date:	27/10/01 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Script, Beautiful Dance Sequences, Everything

Disadvantages: Keep forgetting I own it!

Ever felt that you're just not allowed to express yourself how you want to?

If it is, welcome to Scott's club.

Picture the scene.

A crowded dance floor at the Southern District's Waratah Championships. Scott and his partner Liz are on the floor with many other couples including the supreme champions, alcoholic Ken Rawlings, and his partner Pam Short.

Things are going well when suddenly you find yourself boxed in, unable to get out.

What do you do?

Exactly.

You ignore federation dance steps and you use nimble feet and fancy moves to get yourself out of there.

Well, who wouldn't? And before you could say "Angela Ripon" Scott, in a flurry of nifty gestures and moves gets himself out onto the floor and into a whole heap of trouble.

The opening sequence is one of the best opening sequences I know. Filmed perfectly, bringing you into the action gradually and introducing you to characters in a documentary interview type way.

Scott and Liz lose to Rawlings and Liz walks out on her partner, much to his mothers dismay. Now they need to find him a new partner and get him ready for the Pan-Pacifics.

There are so many elements to this film which I will try and describe without ruining the plot in any way.

Fran, the "plain Jane" type, admires Scott for his expression and longs to dance with him. But she is only a beginner at the school and doesn't even have a partner – the idea is laughable. To Scott it is anyway.

After a confrontation where Fran tells Scott a few truths about himself, he agrees to practice with her. She improves, but he would never be allowed to dance with her in competition so he continues his search for a real partner, led by his mother.

The film is an early one (1992) from Baz Lurham which was sadly over shadowed by Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla, but it more than deserves it&#
39;s place up there with them.

The Characters

In a stunningly over-the-top performance, Pat Thompson, gives us a wonderful caricature for Shirley, Scott's Mum. She is strong, weak, out spoken, resentful, pent up, frustrated, loving, jealous, emotional, neurotic, ambitious, proud, all at the same time. A truly fantastic piece of casting. She has some of the funniest scenes and best lines.

Her down-trodden husband, Doug, is played by Barry Otto, is one of the saddest screen characters you'll see for a while. He is tragic almost in a Shakespearean way. For years he has bottled up his feelings and emotions and comes across as a boring little man. But his passion for dance and not being able to release his expression through it leads to some truly touching scenes.

As Scott, Paul Mercurio puts in an honest performance. He is probably not the greatest actor to have walked the earth, but he is believable, and that's what counts! He handsome and fit (ptooey), strong minded and an amazing dancer. Nothing to be jealous of at all really.

Tara Morice plays the Fran. And what a transformation – which you can see coming a mile off. From Plain Jane to Stunner in her red dress. I'm going weak at the knees just thinking about it. Again, she is a strong character who is really led by her family. She is restrained by her father, yet is later released by him too.

There are many wonderful performances notably from Bill Hunter as Barry Fife, the Australian Dance Federation President, and also Antonia Vargas as Fran's Father.

Watch out for the Paso Doble battle between Fran's father and Scott, one of my favourite all-time scenes from a film. It is a moment of true passion for music and dance, and the choreography is simply beautiful.

Dancing aside, the film is really about self-expression and being allowed to do it. It takes on many issues about families, lies, truth e
tc on the way but is ultimately a film on expressing yourself.

It is a cross between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story (without the deaths) and Dirty Dancing (but with humour and better actors and dancers).

On those nights when things have gotten you down a little bit, this is a real feel-good movie. You will laugh, you may cry. But it goes well in dimly lit room with a bottle of red wine and bar of dark chocolate.

Will they be found out? Will they ever get to dance together in public? Will the truth about Scott's father ever come out? Will his mother survive all of the traumas?

Well, you can probably guess all of the answers, but the predictability of this film doesn't ruin it in any way.

Treat yourself to a real gem of a movie.

Summary: