Take the lead - dance film with a kick (Take The Lead (DVD))

Member Name: linzeelou

Product:	Take The Lead (DVD)
Date:	21/09/09 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story

Disadvantages: Not much

Take the lead is a dance film that was released in 2006 and was inspired by a true story. It is rated 12 due to some violence and mild profanity and the film is 108 minutes long.

Plot
Pierre Dulaine is a ballroom dance teacher and one night while on his way home, he sees a teenager destroying a car but he gets away. Pierre finds out who the car belongs to and goes to the school to give it back. He tells the headmistress, and the owner of the car, that he wants to help these kids and he takes over detention.

The kids in detention are all quite troubled and are facing a life without prospects and they are surrounded by drugs, violence and prostitution. They don't see how dancing has any relevance in life but Pierre is determined to show them how it can teach them important lessons in life and will ultimately help them. Pierre is nothing like any of the kids and they all see him as being stuck up and posh and think that he doesn't understand where they come from. Pierre has a hard battle on his hands in order to make the students' lives better and they're going to need a lot of convincing.

Cast
Antonio Banderas - Pierre Dulaine
Rob Brown - Rock
Yaya DaCosta - LaRhette
Alfre Woodard - Principal Augustine James
John Ortiz - Mr. Temple
Laura Benanti - Tina
Jasika Nicole - Egypt
Dante Basco - Ramos
Elijah Kelley - Danjou
Jenna Dewan - Sasha
Brandon D. Andrews - Monster
Lauren Collins - Caitlin
Katya Virshilas - Morgan

My Opinion
I put off watching this film for quite a while because of Antonio Banderas but when I went to Canada the other year, this was what was playing and seeing as I couldn't sleep, I figured I'd give it a chance and I'm quite glad I did.

Antonio Banderas was actually very convincing as Pierre Dulaine. You can see that he really does want to help the students and give them a chance and being something better and refuses to give up even when they give him grief. I did wish that some more time had been spend on Dulaine's background and why he wanted to help so much but I guess you cant ask for everything.

I loved the mix of students that were in detention but you can see that this was done to make sure that no ethnic group was left out but I didn't mind that so much. Take the lead had a really good way of adding in some sub plots when it came to the students and tied them in together well. LaRhette and Rock are supposed to be the main characters, next to Dulaine but they don't take up so much of the story that it leaves the others out. The story behind why they hate each other so much was quite sad and there is a real tense atmosphere between them.

A fair bit of the film has a tense feel to it but there is some comedy too which lightens it up a little bit. It's really easy to feel sorry for the characters while watching this film and you really get a sense of what they're going through and a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to their stories.

The mix of ballroom dancing and hip hop was great, and even though it has been done before, Take the lead gave it a bit of an edge. I loved the way that the students came up with the idea to fuse their tastes in music with Dulaine's and made it, as well as their moves, their own. The soundtrack to go with this film is great and well worth the money if you enjoyed the film.

I'm glad I was so surprised by this film and even though I wouldn't call it one of my favourite dance films, it was still really good. As it is based on a true story, it makes everything much more believable and adds to the entertainment value. Don't be put off by this film if you think it is a been there, done that, because it has something different to offer.

Summary: I loved it